System enablers for multi-sim devices

ABSTRACT

Apparatuses, systems, and methods for a user equipment device (UE) to perform methods for enhancement of multi-SIM devices, such as UE 106. A network may increase paging retries for known MU-SIM devices, e.g., based on an indication of capabilities from a MU-SIM device. The indication may be via a NAS registration request, an RRC capability procedure, and/or an RRC UE assistance procedure. Additionally, a network may include an indication of a paging priority to the UE. The UE may then determine a response to the page based, at least in part, on the indicated priority. Further, the UE may indicate a tune-away to the network. The indication of the tune-away may include a cause and/or duration for the tune-away and may be provided at an RRC level or a network access stratum (NAS) level.

PRIORITY DATA

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/024,528, titled “System Enablers for Multi-SIM Devices”, filed Sep.17, 2020, which claims benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/910,350, titled “System Enablers for Multi-SIMDevices”, filed Oct. 3, 2019, each of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety as though fully and completely set forthherein.

The claims in the instant application are different than those of theparent application and/or other related applications. The Applicanttherefore rescinds any disclaimer of claim scope made in the parentapplication and/or any predecessor application in relation to theinstant application. Any such previous disclaimer and the citedreferences that it was made to avoid, may need to be revisited. Further,any disclaimer made in the instant application should not be read intoor against the parent application and/or other related applications.

FIELD

The present application relates to wireless devices, and moreparticularly to apparatuses, systems, and methods for delivering pagingto a first SIM of a multi-SIM UE while the multi-SIM UE is activelycommunicating with another SIM.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

Wireless communication systems are rapidly growing in usage. In recentyears, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers havebecome increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting telephonecalls, many mobile devices now provide access to the internet, email,text messaging, and navigation using the global positioning system(GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications thatutilize these functionalities.

Long Term Evolution (LTE) has become the technology of choice for themajority of wireless network operators worldwide, providing mobilebroadband data and high-speed Internet access to their subscriber base.LTE defines a number of downlink (DL) physical channels, categorized astransport or control channels, to carry information blocks received frommedium access control (MAC) and higher layers. LTE also defines a numberof physical layer channels for the uplink (UL).

For example, LTE defines a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) as aDL transport channel. The PDSCH is the main data-bearing channelallocated to users on a dynamic and opportunistic basis. The PDSCHcarries data in Transport Blocks (TB) corresponding to a MAC protocoldata unit (PDU), passed from the MAC layer to the physical (PHY) layeronce per Transmission Time Interval (TTI). The PDSCH is also used totransmit broadcast information such as System Information Blocks (SIB)and paging messages.

As another example, LTE defines a Physical Downlink Control Channel(PDCCH) as a DL control channel that carries the resource assignment forUEs that are contained in a Downlink Control Information (DCI) message.Multiple PDCCHs can be transmitted in the same subframe using ControlChannel Elements (CCE), each of which is a nine set of four resourceelements known as Resource Element Groups (REG). The PDCCH employsquadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation, with four QPSK symbolsmapped to each REG. Furthermore, 1, 2, 4, or 8 CCEs can be used for aUE, depending on channel conditions, to ensure sufficient robustness.

Additionally, LTE defines a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) as aUL channel shared by all devices (user equipment, UE) in a radio cell totransmit user data to the network. The scheduling for all UEs is undercontrol of the LTE base station (enhanced Node B, or eNB). The eNB usesthe uplink scheduling grant (DCI format 0) to inform the UE aboutresource block (RB) assignment, and the modulation and coding scheme tobe used. PUSCH typically supports QPSK and quadrature amplitudemodulation (QAM). In addition to user data, the PUSCH also carries anycontrol information necessary to decode the information, such astransport format indicators and multiple-in multiple-out (MIMO)parameters. Control data is multiplexed with information data prior todigital Fourier transform (DFT) spreading.

A next telecommunications standard moving beyond the currentInternational Mobile Telecommunications-Advanced (IMT-Advanced)Standards is called 5th generation mobile networks or 5th generationwireless systems, or 5G for short (otherwise known as 5G-NR for 5G NewRadio, also simply referred to as NR). 5G-NR provides a higher capacityfor a higher density of mobile broadband users, also supportingdevice-to-device, ultra-reliable, and massive machine communications, aswell as lower latency and lower battery consumption, than current LTEstandards. Further, the 5G-NR standard may allow for less restrictive UEscheduling as compared to current LTE standards. Consequently, effortsare being made in ongoing developments of 5G-NR to take advantage ofhigher throughputs possible at higher frequencies.

SUMMARY

Embodiments relate to apparatuses, systems, and methods for deliveringpaging to a first SIM of a multi-SIM UE while the multi-SIM UE isactively communicating with another SIM.

In some embodiments, a wireless device, e.g., such as a user equipmentdevice (UE), may be configured to provide a network with an indicationof capabilities. In some embodiments, the network may increase pagingretries based on the indication, e.g., based on an indication ofcapabilities from a MU-SIM device. In some embodiments, the indicationmay be via a NAS registration request, a radio resource control (RRC)capability procedure, and/or an RRC UE assistance procedure. In someembodiments, a network may include an indication of a paging priorityand/or a paging cause to the UE. The UE may then determine a response tothe page based, at least in part, on the indicated priority and/orpaging cause. In some embodiments, the UE may indicate a tune-away tothe network. The indication of the tune-away may include a cause for thetune-away. In some embodiments, the indication may be provided at an RRClevel or a network access stratum (NAS) level.

For example, in some embodiments, a MU-SIM UE may be configured tomaintain idle mode connections for multiple SIMs. The SIMs of the MU-SIMUE may share radio frequency (RF) resources. In other words, RFresources, such as transmit and/or receive circuitry may be sharedacross the SIMs of the MU-SIM UE. A first SIM may be transitioned toconnected mode based on a first page received from the network, e.g.,from a first AMF of the network. The first page may include anindication of an associated first paging priority. Additionally, asecond page intended for a second SIM may be received from the network,e.g., from a second AMF of the network. The second page may include anindication of a second paging priority. The MU-SIM UE may be furtherconfigured to transition RF resources form the first SIM to the secondSIM based on a comparison of paging priorities indicated by the firstpage and the second page. In some embodiments, the transition may bebased on a priority of the second page (e.g., as indicated by the secondpaging priority) being higher than a priority of the first page (e.g.,as indicated by the first paging priority). In some embodiments, theMU-SIM UE may, after transitioning RF resources to the second SIM,respond to the second page, e.g., to perform a voice call, receive SMSdata, receive high priority data, and so forth.

As another example, in some embodiments, an access management function(AMF) of a network may be configured to maintain an idle mode connectionfor a first SIM of a multiple SIM UE (MU-SIM UE), such as UE 106. TheAMF may transmit a first page to the first SIM that may include anindication of an associated first paging priority. The first AMF mayestablish an RRC connection via a base station of the network with thefirst SIM to transition the idle mode connection associated with thefirst SIM to a connected mode, e.g., in order to perform actionsassociated with the first page. Additionally, the first AMF may receivea tune-away indication and/or suspend indication from the first SIM. Thetune-away indication and/or suspend indication may include a cause ofthe tune-away and/or a cause of the suspension, e.g., such as receptionof a higher priority page by another active SIM of the MU-SIM UE, e.g.,from another AMF of the network. In some embodiments, responsive to thetune-away indication, the first AMF may release the CM connection andsubsequently inform the base station (e.g., via an N2 interface) torelease the RRC connection associated with the MU-SIM UE. In someembodiments, the first AMF may ignore paging instances in which anassociated paging priority is lower than a paging priority associatedwith the cause of the tune-away, e.g., at least until expiration of atimer associated with the tune-away indication and/or receipt of arequest to resume the RRC connection from the MU-SIM UE. In someembodiments, a first SMF may configure a UPF to ignore downlink data fora lower priority PDU session.

The techniques described herein may be implemented in and/or used with anumber of different types of devices, including but not limited tocellular phones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portablemedia players, and any of various other computing devices.

This Summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of thesubject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it will beappreciated that the above-described features are merely examples andshould not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subjectmatter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, andadvantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparentfrom the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present subject matter can be obtainedwhen the following detailed description of various embodiments isconsidered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A illustrates an example wireless communication system accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 1B illustrates an example of a base station (BS) and an accesspoint in communication with a user equipment (UE) device according tosome embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of a WLAN AccessPoint (AP), according to some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example block diagram of a UE according to someembodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example block diagram of a BS according to someembodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example block diagram of cellular communicationcircuitry, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 6A illustrates an example of connections between an EPC network, anLTE base station (eNB), and a 5G NR base station (gNB).

FIG. 6B illustrates an example of a protocol stack for an eNB and a gNB.

FIG. 7A illustrates an example of a 5G network architecture thatincorporates both 3GPP (e.g., cellular) and non-3GPP (e.g.,non-cellular) access to the 5G CN, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 7B illustrates an example of a 5G network architecture thatincorporates both dual 3GPP (e.g., LTE and 5G NR) access and non-3GPPaccess to the 5G CN, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a baseband processor architecture for aUE, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9A illustrates an example of paging categories/causes andassociated rules (or priority rank), according to some embodiments.

FIG. 9B illustrates an example of a set of precedence rules for pagingcategories/causes/service, according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate block diagrams of examples of signalingbetween a UE and a network for priority-based paging, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 11A illustrates a block diagram of an example of signaling betweena UE and a network for a low priority page, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 11B illustrates a block diagram of an example of signaling betweena UE and a network for a high priority page, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 12 illustrates another block diagram of an example signalingbetween a UE and a network for a low priority page, according to someembodiments.

FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram of an example of signaling between aUE and a network for a short procedure, according to some embodiments.

FIG. 14 illustrates a block diagram of an example of signaling between aUE and a network for a tune-away indication via a NAS message, accordingto some embodiments.

FIG. 15 illustrates a block diagram of an example of signaling between aUE and a network for a tune-away indication via an RRC message,according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 16-17 illustrate block diagrams of examples of methods forenhanced paging indications for a MU-SIM UE, according to someembodiments.

While the features described herein may be susceptible to variousmodifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof areshown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described indetail. It should be understood, however, that the drawings and detaileddescription thereto are not intended to be limiting to the particularform disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Terms

The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

Memory Medium—Any of various types of non-transitory memory devices orstorage devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include aninstallation medium, e.g., a CD-ROM, floppy disks, or tape device; acomputer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM,SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; a non-volatile memory such as a Flash,magnetic media, e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage; registers, orother similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium mayinclude other types of non-transitory memory as well or combinationsthereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in a firstcomputer system in which the programs are executed, or may be located ina second different computer system which connects to the first computersystem over a network, such as the Internet. In the latter instance, thesecond computer system may provide program instructions to the firstcomputer for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or morememory mediums which may reside in different locations, e.g., indifferent computer systems that are connected over a network. The memorymedium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as computerprograms) that may be executed by one or more processors.

Carrier Medium—a memory medium as described above, as well as a physicaltransmission medium, such as a bus, network, and/or other physicaltransmission medium that conveys signals such as electrical,electromagnetic, or digital signals.

Programmable Hardware Element—includes various hardware devicescomprising multiple programmable function blocks connected via aprogrammable interconnect. Examples include FPGAs (Field ProgrammableGate Arrays), PLDs (Programmable Logic Devices), FPOAs (FieldProgrammable Object Arrays), and CPLDs (Complex PLDs). The programmablefunction blocks may range from fine grained (combinatorial logic or lookup tables) to coarse grained (arithmetic logic units or processorcores). A programmable hardware element may also be referred to as“reconfigurable logic”.

Computer System—any of various types of computing or processing systems,including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system,workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digitalassistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or otherdevice or combinations of devices. In general, the term “computersystem” can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combinationof devices) having at least one processor that executes instructionsfrom a memory medium.

User Equipment (UE) (or “UE Device”)—any of various types of computersystems devices which are mobile or portable and which performs wirelesscommunications. Examples of UE devices include mobile telephones orsmart phones (e.g., iPhone™, Android™-based phones), portable gamingdevices (e.g., Nintendo DS™ PlayStation Portable™, Gameboy Advance™,iPhone™), laptops, wearable devices (e.g. smart watch, smart glasses),PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, orother handheld devices, etc. In general, the term “UE” or “UE device”can be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and/ortelecommunications device (or combination of devices) which is easilytransported by a user and capable of wireless communication.

Base Station—The term “Base Station” has the full breadth of itsordinary meaning, and at least includes a wireless communication stationinstalled at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of awireless telephone system or radio system.

Processing Element—refers to various elements or combinations ofelements that are capable of performing a function in a device, such asa user equipment or a cellular network device. Processing elements mayinclude, for example: processors and associated memory, portions orcircuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores,processor arrays, circuits such as an ASIC (Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit), programmable hardware elements such as a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), as well any of various combinations ofthe above.

Channel—a medium used to convey information from a sender (transmitter)to a receiver. It should be noted that since characteristics of the term“channel” may differ according to different wireless protocols, the term“channel” as used herein may be considered as being used in a mannerthat is consistent with the standard of the type of device withreference to which the term is used. In some standards, channel widthsmay be variable (e.g., depending on device capability, band conditions,etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths from 1.4MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, WLAN channels may be 22 MHz wide whileBluetooth channels may be 1 Mhz wide. Other protocols and standards mayinclude different definitions of channels. Furthermore, some standardsmay define and use multiple types of channels, e.g., different channelsfor uplink or downlink and/or different channels for different uses suchas data, control information, etc.

Band—The term “band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning, andat least includes a section of spectrum (e.g., radio frequency spectrum)in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

Automatically—refers to an action or operation performed by a computersystem (e.g., software executed by the computer system) or device (e.g.,circuitry, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.), without userinput directly specifying or performing the action or operation. Thusthe term “automatically” is in contrast to an operation being manuallyperformed or specified by the user, where the user provides input todirectly perform the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiatedby input provided by the user, but the subsequent actions that areperformed “automatically” are not specified by the user, i.e., are notperformed “manually”, where the user specifies each action to perform.For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting eachfield and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typinginformation, selecting check boxes, radio selections, etc.) is fillingout the form manually, even though the computer system must update theform in response to the user actions. The form may be automaticallyfilled out by the computer system where the computer system (e.g.,software executing on the computer system) analyzes the fields of theform and fills in the form without any user input specifying the answersto the fields. As indicated above, the user may invoke the automaticfilling of the form, but is not involved in the actual filling of theform (e.g., the user is not manually specifying answers to fields butrather they are being automatically completed). The presentspecification provides various examples of operations beingautomatically performed in response to actions the user has taken.

Approximately—refers to a value that is almost correct or exact. Forexample, approximately may refer to a value that is within 1 to 10percent of the exact (or desired) value. It should be noted, however,that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may be applicationdependent. For example, in some embodiments, “approximately” may meanwithin 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various otherembodiments, the threshold may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, and soforth, as desired or as required by the particular application.

Concurrent—refers to parallel execution or performance, where tasks,processes, or programs are performed in an at least partiallyoverlapping manner. For example, concurrency may be implemented using“strong” or strict parallelism, where tasks are performed (at leastpartially) in parallel on respective computational elements, or using“weak parallelism”, where the tasks are performed in an interleavedmanner, e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads.

Various components may be described as “configured to” perform a task ortasks. In such contexts, “configured to” is a broad recitation generallymeaning “having structure that” performs the task or tasks duringoperation. As such, the component can be configured to perform the taskeven when the component is not currently performing that task (e.g., aset of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect amodule to another module, even when the two modules are not connected).In some contexts, “configured to” may be a broad recitation of structuregenerally meaning “having circuitry that” performs the task or tasksduring operation. As such, the component can be configured to performthe task even when the component is not currently on. In general, thecircuitry that forms the structure corresponding to “configured to” mayinclude hardware circuits.

Various components may be described as performing a task or tasks, forconvenience in the description. Such descriptions should be interpretedas including the phrase “configured to.” Reciting a component that isconfigured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not toinvoke 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) interpretation for that component.

FIGS. 1A and 1B: Communication Systems

FIG. 1A illustrates a simplified example wireless communication system,according to some embodiments. It is noted that the system of FIG. 1 ismerely one example of a possible system, and that features of thisdisclosure may be implemented in any of various systems, as desired.

As shown, the example wireless communication system includes a basestation 102A which communicates over a transmission medium with one ormore user devices 106A, 106B, etc., through 106N. Each of the userdevices may be referred to herein as a “user equipment” (UE). Thus, theuser devices 106 are referred to as UEs or UE devices.

The base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) orcell site (a “cellular base station”) and may include hardware thatenables wireless communication with the UEs 106A through 106N.

The communication area (or coverage area) of the base station may bereferred to as a “cell.” The base station 102A and the UEs 106 may beconfigured to communicate over the transmission medium using any ofvarious radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wirelesscommunication technologies, or telecommunication standards, such as GSM,UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces),LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G new radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000(e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHIRPD), etc. Note that if the base station102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternately bereferred to as an ‘eNodeB’ or ‘eNB’. Note that if the base station 102Ais implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternately be referredto as ‘gNodeB’ or ‘gNB’.

As shown, the base station 102A may also be equipped to communicate witha network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, atelecommunication network such as a public switched telephone network(PSTN), and/or the Internet, among various possibilities). Thus, thebase station 102A may facilitate communication between the user devicesand/or between the user devices and the network 100. In particular, thecellular base station 102A may provide UEs 106 with varioustelecommunication capabilities, such as voice, SMS and/or data services.

Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations102B . . . 102N) operating according to the same or a different cellularcommunication standard may thus be provided as a network of cells, whichmay provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UEs106A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or morecellular communication standards.

Thus, while base station 102A may act as a “serving cell” for UEs 106A-Nas illustrated in FIG. 1 , each UE 106 may also be capable of receivingsignals from (and possibly within communication range of) one or moreother cells (which might be provided by base stations 102B-N and/or anyother base stations), which may be referred to as “neighboring cells”.Such cells may also be capable of facilitating communication betweenuser devices and/or between user devices and the network 100. Such cellsmay include “macro” cells, “micro” cells, “pico” cells, and/or cellswhich provide any of various other granularities of service area size.For example, base stations 102A-B illustrated in FIG. 1 might be macrocells, while base station 102N might be a micro cell. Otherconfigurations are also possible.

In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next generation basestation, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB”. In someembodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core(EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cellmay include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Inaddition, a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connectedto one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

Note that a UE 106 may be capable of communicating using multiplewireless communication standards. For example, the UE 106 may beconfigured to communicate using a wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi)and/or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocol (e.g., Bluetooth,Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.) in addition to at least one cellularcommunication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example,WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2CDMA2000 (e.g., 1×RTT, 1×EV-DO, HRPD, eHIRPD), etc.). The UE 106 mayalso or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or moreglobal navigational satellite systems (GNSS, e.g., GPS or GLONASS), oneor more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M/H orDVB-H), and/or any other wireless communication protocol, if desired.Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including morethan two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

FIG. 1B illustrates user equipment 106 (e.g., one of the devices 106Athrough 106N) in communication with a base station 102 and an accesspoint 112, according to some embodiments. The UE 106 may be a devicewith both cellular communication capability and non-cellularcommunication capability (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and so forth) such asa mobile phone, a hand-held device, a computer or a tablet, or virtuallyany type of wireless device.

The UE 106 may include a processor that is configured to execute programinstructions stored in memory. The UE 106 may perform any of the methodembodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions.Alternatively, or in addition, the UE 106 may include a programmablehardware element such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) that isconfigured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, orany portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

The UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using oneor more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In someembodiments, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, forexample, CDMA2000 (1×RTT/1×EV-DO/HRPD/eHIRPD), LTE/LTE-Advanced, or 5GNR using a single shared radio and/or GSM, LTE, LTE-Advanced, or 5G NRusing the single shared radio. The shared radio may couple to a singleantenna, or may couple to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) forperforming wireless communications. In general, a radio may include anycombination of a baseband processor, analog RF signal processingcircuitry (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers,etc.), or digital processing circuitry (e.g., for digital modulation aswell as other digital processing). Similarly, the radio may implementone or more receive and transmit chains using the aforementionedhardware. For example, the UE 106 may share one or more parts of areceive and/or transmit chain between multiple wireless communicationtechnologies, such as those discussed above.

In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include separate transmit and/orreceive chains (e.g., including separate antennas and other radiocomponents) for each wireless communication protocol with which it isconfigured to communicate. As a further possibility, the UE 106 mayinclude one or more radios which are shared between multiple wirelesscommunication protocols, and one or more radios which are usedexclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example,the UE 106 might include a shared radio for communicating using eitherof LTE or 5G NR (or LTE or 1×RTT or LTE or GSM), and separate radios forcommunicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurationsare also possible.

FIG. 2 : Access Point Block Diagram

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of an access point (AP)112. It is noted that the block diagram of the AP of FIG. 2 is only oneexample of a possible system. As shown, the AP 112 may includeprocessor(s) 204 which may execute program instructions for the AP 112.The processor(s) 204 may also be coupled (directly or indirectly) tomemory management unit (MMU) 240, which may be configured to receiveaddresses from the processor(s) 204 and to translate those addresses tolocations in memory (e.g., memory 260 and read only memory (ROM) 250) orto other circuits or devices.

The AP 112 may include at least one network port 270. The network port270 may be configured to couple to a wired network and provide aplurality of devices, such as UEs 106, access to the Internet. Forexample, the network port 270 (or an additional network port) may beconfigured to couple to a local network, such as a home network or anenterprise network. For example, port 270 may be an Ethernet port. Thelocal network may provide connectivity to additional networks, such asthe Internet.

The AP 112 may include at least one antenna 234, which may be configuredto operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured tocommunicate with UE 106 via wireless communication circuitry 230. Theantenna 234 communicates with the wireless communication circuitry 230via communication chain 232. Communication chain 232 may include one ormore receive chains, one or more transmit chains or both. The wirelesscommunication circuitry 230 may be configured to communicate via Wi-Fior WLAN, e.g., 802.11. The wireless communication circuitry 230 mayalso, or alternatively, be configured to communicate via various otherwireless communication technologies, including, but not limited to, 5GNR, Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced (LTE-A), Global System forMobile (GSM), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), CDMA2000,etc., for example when the AP is co-located with a base station in caseof a small cell, or in other instances when it may be desirable for theAP 112 to communicate via various different wireless communicationtechnologies.

In some embodiments, as further described below, an AP 112 may beconfigured to perform methods for delivering paging to a first SIM of amulti-SIM UE while the multi-SIM UE is actively communicating withanother SIM as further described herein.

FIG. 3 : Block Diagram of a UE

FIG. 3 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of acommunication device 106, according to some embodiments. It is notedthat the block diagram of the communication device of FIG. 3 is only oneexample of a possible communication device. According to embodiments,communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobiledevice or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, adesktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., alaptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet and/or acombination of devices, among other devices. As shown, the communicationdevice 106 may include a set of components 300 configured to performcore functions. For example, this set of components may be implementedas a system on chip (SOC), which may include portions for variouspurposes. Alternatively, this set of components 300 may be implementedas separate components or groups of components for the various purposes.The set of components 300 may be coupled (e.g., communicatively;directly or indirectly) to various other circuits of the communicationdevice 106.

For example, the communication device 106 may include various types ofmemory (e.g., including NAND flash 310), an input/output interface suchas connector I/F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; dock;charging station; input devices, such as a microphone, camera, keyboard;output devices, such as speakers; etc.), the display 360, which may beintegrated with or external to the communication device 106, andcellular communication circuitry 330 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc.,and short to medium range wireless communication circuitry 329 (e.g.,Bluetooth™ and WLAN circuitry). In some embodiments, communicationdevice 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), suchas a network interface card, e.g., for Ethernet.

The cellular communication circuitry 330 may couple (e.g.,communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, suchas antennas 335 and 336 as shown. The short to medium range wirelesscommunication circuitry 329 may also couple (e.g., communicatively;directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, such as antennas 337and 338 as shown. Alternatively, the short to medium range wirelesscommunication circuitry 329 may couple (e.g., communicatively; directlyor indirectly) to the antennas 335 and 336 in addition to, or insteadof, coupling (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) to theantennas 337 and 338. The short to medium range wireless communicationcircuitry 329 and/or cellular communication circuitry 330 may includemultiple receive chains and/or multiple transmit chains for receivingand/or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in amultiple-input multiple output (MIMO) configuration.

In some embodiments, as further described below, cellular communicationcircuitry 330 may include dedicated receive chains (including and/orcoupled to, e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly dedicatedprocessors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chainfor LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). In addition, in someembodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include a singletransmit chain that may be switched between radios dedicated to specificRATs. For example, a first radio may be dedicated to a first RAT, e.g.,LTE, and may be in communication with a dedicated receive chain and atransmit chain shared with an additional radio, e.g., a second radiothat may be dedicated to a second RAT, e.g., 5G NR, and may be incommunication with a dedicated receive chain and the shared transmitchain.

The communication device 106 may also include and/or be configured foruse with one or more user interface elements. The user interfaceelements may include any of various elements, such as display 360 (whichmay be a touchscreen display), a keyboard (which may be a discretekeyboard or may be implemented as part of a touchscreen display), amouse, a microphone and/or speakers, one or more cameras, one or morebuttons, and/or any of various other elements capable of providinginformation to a user and/or receiving or interpreting user input.

The communication device 106 may further include one or more smart cards345 that include SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such asone or more UICC(s) (Universal Integrated Circuit Card(s)) cards 345.Note that the term “SIM” or “SIM entity” is intended to include any ofvarious types of SIM implementations or SIM functionality, such as theone or more UICC(s) cards 345, one or more eUICCs, one or more eSIMs,either removable or embedded, etc. In some embodiments, the UE 106 mayinclude at least two SIMs. Each SIM may execute one or more SIMapplications and/or otherwise implement SIM functionality. Thus, eachSIM may be a single smart card that may be embedded, e.g., may besoldered onto a circuit board in the UE 106, or each SIM 310 may beimplemented as a removable smart card. Thus the SIM(s) may be one ormore removable smart cards (such as UICC cards, which are sometimesreferred to as “SIM cards”), and/or the SIMs 310 may be one or moreembedded cards (such as embedded UICCs (eUICCs), which are sometimesreferred to as “eSIMs” or “eSIM cards”). In some embodiments (such aswhen the SIM(s) include an eUICC), one or more of the SIM(s) mayimplement embedded SIM (eSIM) functionality; in such an embodiment, asingle one of the SIM(s) may execute multiple SIM applications. Each ofthe SIMs may include components such as a processor and/or a memory;instructions for performing SIM/eSIM functionality may be stored in thememory and executed by the processor. In some embodiments, the UE 106may include a combination of removable smart cards andfixed/non-removable smart cards (such as one or more eUICC cards thatimplement eSIM functionality), as desired. For example, the UE 106 maycomprise two embedded SIMs, two removable SIMs, or a combination of oneembedded SIMs and one removable SIMs. Various other SIM configurationsare also contemplated.

As noted above, in some embodiments, the UE 106 may include two or moreSIMs. The inclusion of two or more SIMs in the UE 106 may allow the UE106 to support two different telephone numbers and may allow the UE 106to communicate on corresponding two or more respective networks. Forexample, a first SIM may support a first RAT such as LTE, and a secondSIM 310 support a second RAT such as 5G NR. Other implementations andRATs are of course possible. In some embodiments, when the UE 106comprises two SIMs, the UE 106 may support Dual SIM Dual Active (DSDA)functionality. The DSDA functionality may allow the UE 106 to besimultaneously connected to two networks (and use two different RATs) atthe same time, or to simultaneously maintain two connections supportedby two different SIMs using the same or different RATs on the same ordifferent networks. The DSDA functionality may also allow the UE 106 tosimultaneously receive voice calls or data traffic on either phonenumber. In certain embodiments the voice call may be a packet switchedcommunication. In other words, the voice call may be received usingvoice over LTE (VoLTE) technology and/or voice over NR (VoNR)technology. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may support Dual SIM DualStandby (DSDS) functionality. The DSDS functionality may allow either ofthe two SIMs in the UE 106 to be on standby waiting for a voice calland/or data connection. In DSDS, when a call/data is established on oneSIM, the other SIM is no longer active. In some embodiments, DSDxfunctionality (either DSDA or DSDS functionality) may be implementedwith a single SIM (e.g., a eUICC) that executes multiple SIMapplications for different carriers and/or RATs.

As shown, the SOC 300 may include processor(s) 302, which may executeprogram instructions for the communication device 106 and displaycircuitry 304, which may perform graphics processing and provide displaysignals to the display 360. The processor(s) 302 may also be coupled tomemory management unit (MMU) 340, which may be configured to receiveaddresses from the processor(s) 302 and translate those addresses tolocations in memory (e.g., memory 306, read only memory (ROM) 350, NANDflash memory 310) and/or to other circuits or devices, such as thedisplay circuitry 304, short to medium range wireless communicationcircuitry 329, cellular communication circuitry 330, connector I/F 320,and/or display 360. The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memoryprotection and page table translation or set up. In some embodiments,the MMU 340 may be included as a portion of the processor(s) 302.

As noted above, the communication device 106 may be configured tocommunicate using wireless and/or wired communication circuitry. Thecommunication device 106 may be configured to perform methods fordelivering paging to a first SIM of a multi-SIM UE while the multi-SIMUE is actively communicating with another SIM as further describedherein.

As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardwareand software components for implementing the above features for acommunication device 106 to communicate a scheduling profile for powersavings to a network. The processor 302 of the communication device 106may be configured to implement part or all of the features describedherein, e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memorymedium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium).Alternatively (or in addition), processor 302 may be configured as aprogrammable hardware element, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable GateArray), or as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).Alternatively (or in addition) the processor 302 of the communicationdevice 106, in conjunction with one or more of the other components 300,304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360 may be configured toimplement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processor 302 may include one or moreprocessing elements. Thus, processor 302 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof processor 302. In addition, each integrated circuit may includecircuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured toperform the functions of processor(s) 302.

Further, as described herein, cellular communication circuitry 330 andshort to medium range wireless communication circuitry 329 may eachinclude one or more processing elements. In other words, one or moreprocessing elements may be included in cellular communication circuitry330 and, similarly, one or more processing elements may be included inshort to medium range wireless communication circuitry 329. Thus,cellular communication circuitry 330 may include one or more integratedcircuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functions of cellularcommunication circuitry 330. In addition, each integrated circuit mayinclude circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.)configured to perform the functions of cellular communication circuitry330. Similarly, the short to medium range wireless communicationcircuitry 329 may include one or more ICs that are configured to performthe functions of short to medium range wireless communication circuitry329. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry (e.g.,first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to perform thefunctions of short to medium range wireless communication circuitry 329.

FIG. 4 : Block Diagram of a Base Station

FIG. 4 illustrates an example block diagram of a base station 102,according to some embodiments. It is noted that the base station of FIG.4 is merely one example of a possible base station. As shown, the basestation 102 may include processor(s) 404 which may execute programinstructions for the base station 102. The processor(s) 404 may also becoupled to memory management unit (MMU) 440, which may be configured toreceive addresses from the processor(s) 404 and translate thoseaddresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read only memory(ROM) 450) or to other circuits or devices.

The base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Thenetwork port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network andprovide a plurality of devices, such as UE devices 106, access to thetelephone network as described above in FIGS. 1 and 2 .

The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also oralternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, e.g., acore network of a cellular service provider. The core network mayprovide mobility related services and/or other services to a pluralityof devices, such as UE devices 106. In some cases, the network port 470may couple to a telephone network via the core network, and/or the corenetwork may provide a telephone network (e.g., among other UE devicesserviced by the cellular service provider).

In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation basestation, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or “gNB”. In suchembodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolvedpacket core (EPC) network and/or to a NR core (NRC) network. Inaddition, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and mayinclude one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition,a UE capable of operating according to 5G NR may be connected to one ormore TRPs within one or more gNBs.

The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434, and possiblymultiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured tooperate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured tocommunicate with UE devices 106 via radio 430. The antenna 434communicates with the radio 430 via communication chain 432.Communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain orboth. The radio 430 may be configured to communicate via variouswireless communication standards, including, but not limited to, 5G NR,LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

The base station 102 may be configured to communicate wirelessly usingmultiple wireless communication standards. In some instances, the basestation 102 may include multiple radios, which may enable the basestation 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communicationtechnologies. For example, as one possibility, the base station 102 mayinclude an LTE radio for performing communication according to LTE aswell as a 5G NR radio for performing communication according to 5G NR.In such a case, the base station 102 may be capable of operating as bothan LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility,the base station 102 may include a multi-mode radio which is capable ofperforming communications according to any of multiple wirelesscommunication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTEand UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

As described further subsequently herein, the BS 102 may includehardware and software components for implementing or supportingimplementation of features described herein. The processor 404 of thebase station 102 may be configured to implement or supportimplementation of part or all of the methods described herein, e.g., byexecuting program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., anon-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, theprocessor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, suchas an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC (ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit), or a combination thereof. Alternatively(or in addition) the processor 404 of the BS 102, in conjunction withone or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470may be configured to implement or support implementation of part or allof the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processor(s) 404 may be comprised ofone or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processingelements may be included in processor(s) 404. Thus, processor(s) 404 mayinclude one or more integrated circuits (ICs) that are configured toperform the functions of processor(s) 404. In addition, each integratedcircuit may include circuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry,etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor(s) 404.

Further, as described herein, radio 430 may be comprised of one or moreprocessing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements maybe included in radio 430. Thus, radio 430 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof radio 430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuitry(e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured to performthe functions of radio 430.

FIG. 5 : Block Diagram of Cellular Communication Circuitry

FIG. 5 illustrates an example simplified block diagram of cellularcommunication circuitry, according to some embodiments. It is noted thatthe block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of FIG. 5 isonly one example of a possible cellular communication circuit. Accordingto embodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may be included ina communication device, such as communication device 106 describedabove. As noted above, communication device 106 may be a user equipment(UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device orwireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobilecomputing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computingdevice), a tablet and/or a combination of devices, among other devices.

The cellular communication circuitry 330 may couple (e.g.,communicatively; directly or indirectly) to one or more antennas, suchas antennas 335 a-b and 336 as shown (in FIG. 3 ). In some embodiments,cellular communication circuitry 330 may include dedicated receivechains (including and/or coupled to, e.g., communicatively; directly orindirectly dedicated processors and/or radios) for multiple RATs (e.g.,a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). Forexample, as shown in FIG. 5 , cellular communication circuitry 330 mayinclude a modem 510 and a modem 520. Modem 510 may be configured forcommunications according to a first RAT, e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A, andmodem 520 may be configured for communications according to a secondRAT, e.g., such as 5G NR.

As shown, modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory516 in communication with processors 512. Modem 510 may be incommunication with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. RF front end530 may include circuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals.For example, RF front end 530 may include receive circuitry (RX) 532 andtransmit circuitry (TX) 534. In some embodiments, receive circuitry 532may be in communication with downlink (DL) front end 550, which mayinclude circuitry for receiving radio signals via antenna 335 a.

Similarly, modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory526 in communication with processors 522. Modem 520 may be incommunication with an RF front end 540. RF front end 540 may includecircuitry for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, RFfront end 540 may include receive circuitry 542 and transmit circuitry544. In some embodiments, receive circuitry 542 may be in communicationwith DL front end 560, which may include circuitry for receiving radiosignals via antenna 335 b.

In some embodiments, a switch 570 may couple transmit circuitry 534 touplink (UL) front end 572. In addition, switch 570 may couple transmitcircuitry 544 to UL front end 572. UL front end 572 may includecircuitry for transmitting radio signals via antenna 336. Thus, whencellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmitaccording to the first RAT (e.g., as supported via modem 510), switch570 may be switched to a first state that allows modem 510 to transmitsignals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain thatincludes transmit circuitry 534 and UL front end 572). Similarly, whencellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmitaccording to the second RAT (e.g., as supported via modem 520), switch570 may be switched to a second state that allows modem 520 to transmitsignals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain thatincludes transmit circuitry 544 and UL front end 572).

In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may beconfigured to perform methods for delivering paging to a first SIM of amulti-SIM UE while the multi-SIM UE is actively communicating withanother SIM as further described herein.

As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware and softwarecomponents for implementing the above features or for time divisionmultiplexing UL data for NSA NR operations, as well as the various othertechniques described herein. The processors 512 may be configured toimplement part or all of the features described herein, e.g., byexecuting program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., anon-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or inaddition), processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardwareelement, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC(Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or inaddition) the processor 512, in conjunction with one or more of theother components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335 and 336 may beconfigured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processors 512 may include one or moreprocessing elements. Thus, processors 512 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof processors 512. In addition, each integrated circuit may includecircuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured toperform the functions of processors 512.

As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and softwarecomponents for implementing the above features for communicating ascheduling profile for power savings to a network, as well as thevarious other techniques described herein. The processors 522 may beconfigured to implement part or all of the features described herein,e.g., by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g.,a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or inaddition), processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardwareelement, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or as an ASIC(Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Alternatively (or inaddition) the processor 522, in conjunction with one or more of theother components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335 and 336 may beconfigured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

In addition, as described herein, processors 522 may include one or moreprocessing elements. Thus, processors 522 may include one or moreintegrated circuits (ICs) that are configured to perform the functionsof processors 522. In addition, each integrated circuit may includecircuitry (e.g., first circuitry, second circuitry, etc.) configured toperform the functions of processors 522.

5G NR Architecture with LTE

In some implementations, fifth generation (5G) wireless communicationwill initially be deployed concurrently with current wirelesscommunication standards (e.g., LTE). For example, dual connectivitybetween LTE and 5G new radio (5G NR or NR) has been specified as part ofthe initial deployment of NR. Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A-B,evolved packet core (EPC) network 600 may continue to communicate withcurrent LTE base stations (e.g., eNB 602). In addition, eNB 602 may bein communication with a 5G NR base station (e.g., gNB 604) and may passdata between the EPC network 600 and gNB 604. Thus, EPC network 600 maybe used (or reused) and gNB 604 may serve as extra capacity for UEs,e.g., for providing increased downlink throughput to UEs. In otherwords, LTE may be used for control plane signaling and NR may be usedfor user plane signaling. Thus, LTE may be used to establish connectionsto the network and NR may be used for data services.

FIG. 6B illustrates a proposed protocol stack for eNB 602 and gNB 604.As shown, eNB 602 may include a medium access control (MAC) layer 632that interfaces with radio link control (RLC) layers 622 a-b. RLC layer622 a may also interface with packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)layer 612 a and RLC layer 622 b may interface with PDCP layer 612 b.Similar to dual connectivity as specified in LTE-Advanced Release 12,PDCP layer 612 a may interface via a master cell group (MCG) bearer withEPC network 600 whereas PDCP layer 612 b may interface via a splitbearer with EPC network 600.

Additionally, as shown, gNB 604 may include a MAC layer 634 thatinterfaces with RLC layers 624 a-b. RLC layer 624 a may interface withPDCP layer 612 b of eNB 602 via an X₂ interface for information exchangeand/or coordination (e.g., scheduling of a UE) between eNB 602 and gNB604. In addition, RLC layer 624 b may interface with PDCP layer 614.Similar to dual connectivity as specified in LTE-Advanced Release 12,PDCP layer 614 may interface with EPC network 600 via a secondary cellgroup (SCG) bearer. Thus, eNB 602 may be considered a master node (MeNB)while gNB 604 may be considered a secondary node (SgNB). In somescenarios, a UE may be required to maintain a connection to both an MeNBand a SgNB. In such scenarios, the MeNB may be used to maintain a radioresource control (RRC) connection to an EPC while the SgNB may be usedfor capacity (e.g., additional downlink and/or uplink throughput).

5G Core Network Architecture—Interworking with Wi-Fi

In some embodiments, the 5G core network (CN) may be accessed via (orthrough) a cellular connection/interface (e.g., via a 3GPP communicationarchitecture/protocol) and a non-cellular connection/interface (e.g., anon-3GPP access architecture/protocol such as Wi-Fi connection). FIG. 7Aillustrates an example of a 5G network architecture that incorporatesboth 3GPP (e.g., cellular) and non-3GPP (e.g., non-cellular) access tothe 5G CN, according to some embodiments. As shown, a user equipmentdevice (e.g., such as UE 106) may access the 5G CN through both a radioaccess network (RAN, e.g., such as gNB or base station 604) and anaccess point, such as AP 112. The AP 112 may include a connection to theInternet 700 as well as a connection to a non-3GPP inter-workingfunction (N3IWF) 702 network entity. The N3IWF may include a connectionto a core access and mobility management function (AMF) 704 of the 5GCN. The AMF 704 may include an instance of a 5G mobility management (5GMM) function associated with the UE 106. In addition, the RAN (e.g., gNB604) may also have a connection to the AMF 704. Thus, the 5G CN maysupport unified authentication over both connections as well as allowsimultaneous registration for UE 106 access via both gNB 604 and AP 112.As shown, the AMF 704 may include one or more functional entitiesassociated with the 5G CN (e.g., network slice selection function (NSSF)720, short message service function (SMSF) 722, application function(AF) 724, unified data management (UDM) 726, policy control function(PCF) 728, and/or authentication server function (AUSF) 730). Note thatthese functional entities may also be supported by a session managementfunction (SMF) 706 a and an SMF 706 b of the 5G CN. The AMF 706 may beconnected to (or in communication with) the SMF 706 a. Further, the gNB604 may in communication with (or connected to) a user plane function(UPF) 708 a that may also be communication with the SMF 706 a.Similarly, the N3IWF 702 may be communicating with a UPF 708 b that mayalso be communicating with the SMF 706 b. Both UPFs may be communicatingwith the data network (e.g., DN 710 a and 710 b) and/or the Internet 700and IMS core network 710.

FIG. 7B illustrates an example of a 5G network architecture thatincorporates both dual 3GPP (e.g., LTE and 5G NR) access and non-3GPPaccess to the 5G CN, according to some embodiments. As shown, a userequipment device (e.g., such as UE 106) may access the 5G CN throughboth a radio access network (RAN, e.g., such as gNB or base station 604or eNB or base station 602) and an access point, such as AP 112. The AP112 may include a connection to the Internet 700 as well as a connectionto the N3IWF 702 network entity. The N3IWF may include a connection tothe AMF 704 of the 5G CN. The AMF 704 may include an instance of the 5GMM function associated with the UE 106. In addition, the RAN (e.g., gNB604) may also have a connection to the AMF 704. Thus, the 5G CN maysupport unified authentication over both connections as well as allowsimultaneous registration for UE 106 access via both gNB 604 and AP 112.In addition, the 5G CN may support dual-registration of the UE on both alegacy network (e.g., LTE via base station 602) and a 5G network (e.g.,via base station 604). As shown, the base station 602 may haveconnections to a mobility management entity (MME) 742 and a servinggateway (SGW) 744. The MME 742 may have connections to both the SGW 744and the AMF 704. In addition, the SGW 744 may have connections to boththe SMF 706 a and the UPF 708 a. As shown, the AMF 704 may include oneor more functional entities associated with the 5G CN (e.g., NSSF 720,SMSF 722, AF 724, UDM 726, PCF 728, and/or AUSF 730). Note that UDM 726may also include a home subscriber server (HSS) function and the PCF mayalso include a policy and charging rules function (PCRF). Note furtherthat these functional entities may also be supported by the SMF 706 aand the SMF 706 b of the 5G CN. The AMF 706 may be connected to (or incommunication with) the SMF 706 a. Further, the gNB 604 may incommunication with (or connected to) the UPF 708 a that may also becommunication with the SMF 706 a. Similarly, the N3IWF 702 may becommunicating with a UPF 708 b that may also be communicating with theSMF 706 b. Both UPFs may be communicating with the data network (e.g.,DN 710 a and 710 b) and/or the Internet 700 and IMS core network 710.

Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above describednetwork entities may be configured to perform methods to improvesecurity checks in a 5G NR network, including mechanisms for deliveringpaging to a first SIM of a multi-SIM UE while the multi-SIM UE isactively communicating with another SIM, e.g., as further describedherein.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a baseband processor architecture for aUE (e.g., such as UE 106), according to some embodiments. The basebandprocessor architecture 800 described in FIG. 8 may be implemented on oneor more radios (e.g., radios 329 and/or 330 described above) or modems(e.g., modems 510 and/or 520) as described above. As shown, thenon-access stratum (NAS) 810 may include a 5G NAS 820 and a legacy NAS850. The legacy NAS 850 may include a communication connection with alegacy access stratum (AS) 870. The 5G NAS 820 may include communicationconnections with both a 5G AS 840 and a non-3GPP AS 830 and Wi-Fi AS832. The 5G NAS 820 may include functional entities associated with bothaccess stratums. Thus, the 5G NAS 820 may include multiple 5G MMentities 826 and 828 and 5G session management (SM) entities 822 and824. The legacy NAS 850 may include functional entities such as shortmessage service (SMS) entity 852, evolved packet system (EPS) sessionmanagement (ESM) entity 854, session management (SM) entity 856, EPSmobility management (EMM) entity 858, and mobility management (MM)/GPRSmobility management (GMM) entity 860. In addition, the legacy AS 870 mayinclude functional entities such as LTE AS 872, UMTS AS 874, and/orGSM/GPRS AS 876.

Thus, the baseband processor architecture 800 allows for a common 5G-NASfor both 5G cellular and non-cellular (e.g., non-3GPP access). Note thatas shown, the 5G MM may maintain individual connection management andregistration management state machines for each connection.Additionally, a device (e.g., UE 106) may register to a single PLMN(e.g., 5G CN) using 5G cellular access as well as non-cellular access.Further, it may be possible for the device to be in a connected state inone access and an idle state in another access and vice versa. Finally,there may be common 5G-MM procedures (e.g., registration,de-registration, identification, authentication, as so forth) for bothaccesses.

Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above describedfunctional entities of the 5G NAS and/or 5G AS may be configured toperform methods for delivering paging to a first SIM of a multi-SIM UEwhile the multi-SIM UE is actively communicating with another SIM, e.g.,as further described herein.

Multi-SIM Device Enhancements

In current implementations, a mobile station, such as a user equipmentdevice (UE), may support more than one universal subscriber identitymodule (USIM) card, e.g., typically a UE may support at least two USIMs.In typical implementations, a multi-SIM (MU-SIM) UE, e.g., a UE thatsupports two or more USIMs, may support a user who wishes to usemultiple subscriptions (e.g., a personal subscription and a businesssubscription and/or an individual subscription and a group subscription)on a single device. In such instances, USIMs may be from the same ordifferent carriers (e.g., mobile network operators (MNOs). Typicalimplementations support various UE behaviors, such as dual SIM singlestandby (DSSS), dual SIM dual standby (DSDS), and/or dual SIM dualactive (DSDA). In some implementations, a MU-SIM UE may use a commonradio and baseband components shared among the multiple SIMs. However,such an architecture may lead to several issues that impact networkperformance.

For example, consider a MU-SIM UE that is actively engaged incommunication within one or more networks (or systems). The MU-SIM UE,while actively communicating with a first network may be required tooccasionally check another network (e.g., to read a paging channel,perform measurements, and/or receive network information). Suchoccasional activity on another network may have a performance impact,depending on configuration of the MU-SIM UE. For example, MU-SIM devicesmay have a higher probability of missing pages (e.g., as compared tosingle SIM UEs) due to paging collisions across SIMs, tune-aways, highpriority procedure ongoing on another SIM, and so forth.

In current implementations, when a MU-SIM UE is connected to a firstnetwork and receives a page on a second network, the MU-SIM UE may berequired to blindly decide whether to ignore the page or respond to thepage. For example, when a MU-SIM UE is in CM-Connected state on a USIM Aand performing active data transfer, the MU-SIM UE may periodically tuneaway to a USIM B and attempt to decode a page. However, the MU-SIM UEdoes not have visibility on what is the procedure for which the incomingpage is being received; thus, there is a risk of the MU-SIM UE abortinga higher priority procedure on USIM A while tuning away to service a lowpriority procedure on USIM B.

As a further example, when a MU-SIM UE decides to respond to a pagereceived on a second network (e.g., supported by USIM B) while connectedto a first network (e.g., supported by USIM A) and/or when the MU-SIM UEis required to perform some signaling activity on the second network(e.g., such as a periodic mobility registration update), the MU-SIM UEmay need to stop current activity on the first network. However, in theabsence of any procedure for suspension of ongoing activity, the MU-SIMUE may have to autonomously release an RRC connection with the firstnetwork and abruptly leave which may be likely to be interpreted as anerror case by the first network. Such an error case may have thepotential to distort the statistics in the first network and algorithmsthat rely on them. Moreover, during the MU-SIM UE's absence, the firstnetwork may continue to page the MU-SIM UE which may result in waste ofpaging resources on the first network.

Embodiments described herein provide systems, mechanisms, and methodsfor enhancement of multi-SIM devices, such as UE 106. In someembodiments, a network may increase paging retries for known MU-SIMdevices, e.g., based on an indication of capabilities from a MU-SIMdevice. In some embodiments, the indication may be via a network accessstratum (NAS) registration request, a radio resource control (RRC)capability procedure, and/or an RRC UE assistance procedure. In someembodiments, a network may include, within a page, an indication of apaging priority and/or a paging cause to the UE. The UE may thendetermine a response to the page based, at least in part, on theindicated priority and/or the indicated paging cause. In someembodiments, the UE may indicate a tune-away to the network. Theindication of the tune-away may include a cause for the tune-away. Insome embodiments, the indication may be provided at an RRC level or anetwork access stratum (NAS) level.

For example, in some embodiments, a UE, such as UE 106, may provide anindication of a MU-SIM configuration via a NAS registration request. Insome embodiments, as part of a 5GMM capability information element (IE)in a NAS registration request message, 1 bit may be reserved to indicateMU-SIM support. In some embodiments, an additional IE may be introducedto indicate public land mobile network (PLMN) information and/or carrier(or operator) name for each additional SIM included (and/or active) inthe UE. In some embodiments, the UE may provide an option to allow auser to dynamically enable/disable secondary SIMs. In such embodiments,when the UE changes from a single SIM mode to a MU-SIM mode, or viceversa, the UE may perform a periodic registration request procedure,e.g., a periodic NAS registration request procedure, to update theMU-SIM capability along with the PLMN information and/or carrierinformation for activated SIMs (e.g., peer SIMs) to the network.

As another example, in some embodiments, a UE, such as UE 106, mayprovide an indication of a MU-SIM configuration via an RRC UE capabilityprocedure. In some embodiments, as part of an RRC UE capability message,the UE may update a MU-SIM configuration as well as the PLMN informationand/or carrier (or operator) name for each addition SIM included in theUE, e.g., to a network node, such as gNB 604. The network node mayforward this information to an AMF via an N2 interface. In someembodiments, when the UE's device config changes from single SIM toMU-SIM, the UE may perform de-registration/re-registration procedures toupdate its SIM capabilities to the network. In some embodiments, the UEmay trigger the network to request updated RRC capabilities in order toupdate its SIM capabilities.

As a further example, in some embodiments, a UE, such as UE 106, mayprovide an indication of a MU-SIM configuration via an RRC UE assistanceprocedure. In some embodiments, as part of an RRC UE assistance message,the UE may update its MU-SIM configuration as well as the PLMNinformation and/or carrier (or operator) name for each addition SIMincluded in the UE e.g., to a network node, such as gNB 604. The networknode may forward this information to an AMF via an N2 interface. In someembodiments, the UE may trigger the network to request updated RRCcapabilities in order to update its SIM capabilities.

In some embodiments, as part of a request paging procedure from an AMF,such as AMF 704, to a RAN, the AMF may include a paging cause (or pagingcategory) field. A page may be initiated in support of various services,such as a voice over LTE (VoLTE) call, a voice over NR (VoNR) call, anemergency callback, a short message service (SMS), a voice mail, a voiceover IP (VoIP) call, slice specific data, services for background data,a video call, network signaling (e.g., UE configuration update when UEis not in a connected mode), user perceivable incoming push, and soforth. Thus, the AMF may include a paging cause (or paging category)when paging a UE, such as UE 106. In some embodiments, operators maydefine how to prioritize paging causes. For example, FIG. 9A illustratesan example of paging categories/causes and associated rules (or priorityrank), according to some embodiments. As shown, an emergency callbackmay have a highest priority and thus, a lowest associated rule.Additionally, a VoLTE or VoNR call may have a higher priority than otherpaging causes except an emergency callback. In some embodiments, pagingcategories (or causes) may aid an AMF and/or UE in determining how torespond to a page.

In some embodiments, as part of the determination of how to respond to apage, a UE, such as UE 106, may follow a set of precedence rules. Forexample, as illustrated by FIG. 9B, in some embodiments, services may becategorized as either long or short procedures and as either low or highpriority. As shown, long, high priority services may include voice callsand/or emergency calls whereas short, high priority services may includenetwork access stratum (NAS) signaling and/or SMS data. Additionally,long, low priority services may include software updates and/orbackground traffic whereas short, low priority services may includeslice specific updates and/or operator defined traffic. In someembodiments, a set of precedence rules may define long, high priorityprocedures as having a highest precedence, followed by short, highpriority procedures, short, low priority procedures, and long, lowpriority procedures.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate block diagrams of examples of signalingbetween a UE and a network for priority-based paging, according to someembodiments. The signaling shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B may be used inconjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devices shown in theFigures, among other devices. In various embodiments, some of thesignaling shown may be performed concurrently, in a different order thanshown, or may be omitted. Additional signaling may also be performed asdesired. As shown, this signaling may operate as follows.

For example, as shown in FIG. 10A, a UE 1006, which may be a UE 106, mayinclude one or more UICCs, such as SIMs 1045 a and 1045 b. At 1010,connections supported by SIMs 1045 a and 1045 b may be in an idle modewith respective access and mobility management functions (AMFs) 1004 aand 1004 b. The AMFs 1004 a and 1004 b, which may be AMFs 704, may beconnected to a short message service function (SMSF) 1092, which may bean SMSF 722. At 1012, AMF 1004 b may transmit a page to UE 1006 intendedfor SIM 1045 b. The page may include an indication (or cause) that thepage is delay tolerant (e.g., not high priority and/or is a low prioritypage). At 1014, responsive to the page, the UE 1006 may initiate a radioconnection supported by SIM 1045 b. At 1016, a connection supported bySIM 1045 b may transition to a connected state. At 1018, AMF 1004 a mayreceive an SMS indication from 1096. At 1020, the AMF 1004 a, inresponse to the SMS indication, may transmit a page to the UE 1006intended for SIM 1045 a. The page may indicate a cause as SMS. At 1022,the UE 1006 may compare priority (or precedence) of the received pages.The UE 1006, based on a set of rules (e.g., as described herein), maydetermine that SMS service is of higher priority than the delay tolerantpage. Thus, at 1024, SIM 1045 a may request RF resources from SIM 1045b. The request for RF resources may include an indication of a cause (orreason for the request), in this case, SMS page. At 1026, SIM 1045 b maygrant the RF resource request and, at 1028, a connection supported bySIM 1045 b may transition to idle mode. At 1030, the connectionsupported by SIM 1045 a may initiate a radio connection with AMF 1004 a.At 1032, once connected, the UE may fetch (or receive) the SMS from AMF1004 a. At 1034, SIM 1045 a may grant RF resources back to SIM 1045 band, at 1036, the connection supported by SIM 1045 a may transition backto idle mode. At 1038, SIM 1045 b may initiate a radio connection withAMF 1004 b and transition back to a connected mode at 1040.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 10B, at 1050, connections supportedby SIMs 1045 a and 1045 b may be in an idle mode with respective AMFs1004 a and 1004 b. The AMFs 1004 a and 1004 b may be in communicationwith one or more servers, such as server 1096. At 1052, AMF 1004 b maytransmit a page to UE 1006 intended for SIM 1045 b. The page may includean indication (or cause) that the page is for a voice over IP (VoIPcall). At 1054, responsive to the page, the UE 1006 may initiate a radioconnection supported by SIM 1045 b. At 1056, a connection supported bySIM 1045 b may transition to a connected state. At 1058, AMF 1004 a mayreceive an indication from server 1096 that low priority (LP) data isavailable for the UE via a connection supported by SIM 1045 a. At 1060,the AMF 1004 a, in response to the LP data indication, may transmit apage to the UE 1006 intended for SIM 1045 a. The page may indicate acause as low priority data (e.g., a background push of data). At 1062,the UE 1006 may compare priority (or precedence) of the received pages.The UE 1006, based on a set of rules (e.g., as described herein), maydetermine that the LP data is of lower priority than the VoIP page.Thus, at 1064, SIM 1045 a may remain in idle mode and the VoIP call,supported by SIM 1045 b, may continue at 1066.

In some embodiments, an AMF, such as AMF 704, may base a paging cause onan active procedure with a highest priority. For example, a typicalpaging mechanism is that a network may retry a page “x” times with a gapof “y” seconds (or minutes). Thus, a complete paging procedure may spanbetween approximately 20 to 100 seconds, e.g., depending on networkpaging retry logic. However, during the duration of a paging procedure,a cause associated with the paging procedure may change, e.g., from alower priority cause (e.g., a background data push) to a higher prioritycause (e.g., an incoming VoLTE or VoNR call). Thus, embodimentsdescribed herein provides mechanism to dynamically change (or update) apaging cause during a paging re-transmission (or paging re-try). Suchmechanisms may allow a UE to better determine how to respond to a page.

In some embodiments, a DSCP marking in an IP header may be utilized forindicating a priority of a page (and/or for indicating a high prioritypage). Note that a DSCP (differentiated services code point) may bedefined as a 6-bit field used to identify a level of service a packetreceives in a network (and may be a 3-bit expansion of an IP precedencewith elimination of type of service (ToS) bits). Note further,applications may typically set DSCP marking for critical (e.g., highpriority) incoming packets. In some embodiments, a UPF, such as UPFs708, may provide such a “hint” to an AMF to utilize indicating a pagingcause as high priority data.

In some embodiments, a UE, such as UE 106, may signal to a network(e.g., to an AMF, such AMF 704, of the network), an indication of atune-away from a current connection (supported by a first SIM) toanother connection (e.g., a connection supported by an additional SIM).The UE may perform registration with the network at the end of thetune-away. In some embodiments, a tune-away indication may be limited(or restricted) to procedures that the UE expects to last longer than apre-defined threshold amount of time. In other words, the UE may providethe tune-away indication for procedures lasting longer than a specifiedamount of time. In some embodiments, the AMF may block any page of lowerpriority than a priority indicated by the tune-away indication untilreceiving a tune-away indication indicating an end of the tune-away,receiving a new radio connection request from the first SIM, and/or uponexpiration of a tune-away timer.

For example, FIGS. 11A, 111B, 12, and 13 illustrate examples oftune-away indications for low and high priority procedures, according tosome embodiments. In particular, FIGS. 11A and 12 illustrate blockdiagrams of examples of signaling between a UE and a network for a lowpriority page, according to some embodiments, whereas FIG. 11Billustrates a block diagram of an example of signaling between a UE anda network for a high priority page, according to some embodiments.Additionally, FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram of an example ofsignaling between a UE and a network for a short procedure, according tosome embodiments. The signaling shown in FIGS. 11A, 11B, 12 and 12 maybe used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, or devicesshown in the Figures, among other devices. In various embodiments, someof the signaling shown may be performed concurrently, in a differentorder than shown, or may be omitted. Additional signaling may also beperformed as desired. As shown, this signaling may operate as follows.

For example, as shown in FIG. 11A, a UE 1106, which may be a UE 106, mayinclude one or more UICCs, such as SIMs 1145 a and 1145 b. At 1110,connections supported by SIMs 1145 a and 1145 b may be in an idle modewith respective access and mobility management functions (AMFs) 1104 aand 1104 b. The AMFs 1104 a and 1104 b, which may be AMFs 704, may beconnected to a short message service function (SMSF) 1192, which may bean SMSF 722. At 1112, AMF 1104 b may transmit a page to UE 1106 intendedfor SIM 1145 b. The page may include an indication (or cause) that thepage is delay tolerant (e.g., not high priority and/or is a low prioritypage). At 1114, responsive to the page, the UE 1106 may initiate a radioconnection supported by SIM 1145 b. At 1116, a connection supported bySIM 1145 b may transition to a connected state. At 1118, AMF 1104 a maytransmit a page to UE 1106 intended for SIM 1145 a. The page may includean indication (or cause) that the page is for a voice call, such as aVoLTE or VoNR call. At 1120, the UE 1106 may compare priority (orprecedence) of the received pages. The UE 1106, based on a set of rules(e.g., as described herein), may determine that the voice call serviceis of higher priority than the delay tolerant page. Thus, at 1122, SIM1145 a may request RF resources from SIM 1145 b. The request for RFresources may include an indication of a cause (or reason for therequest), in this case, a voice call. At 1124, SIM 1145 b may determinethat a tune-away indication is necessary based on a cause (e.g., voicecall for SIM 1145 a) of the tune-away and transmit a tune-awayindication, with cause, to AMF 1104 b. Upon receipt of the tune-awayindication, AMF 1104 b may locally release the CM-Connection andsubsequently inform a base station, such as base station 102, perform alocal RRC release of the connection with UE 106 at 1126. Additionally,at 1128, SIM 1145 b may grant the RF resource request. At 1130, theconnection supported by SIM 1145 a may initiate a radio connection withAMF 1104 a. At 1132, once connected, the UE may perform the voice call.At 1134, upon completion of the voice call, SIM 1145 a may grant RFresources back to SIM 1145 b and, at 1136, the connection supported bySIM 1145 a may transition back to idle mode. Additionally, at 1138, AMF1104 b may receive an SMS indication from SMSF 1192. At 1140, AMF 1104 bmay compare the priority of the SMS indication with a cause of thetune-away (e.g., included in the tune-away indication). Upon determiningthat the SMS is of lower priority than the cause of the tune-away (voicecall), AMF 1104 b may, at 1142, inform SMSF 1192 that SMS is notavailable. At 1144, SIM 1145 b may transmit a tune-away indication thatindicates an end of the tune-away. At 1146, the AMF 1104 b may receive a(either retry or new) SMS indication from SMSF 1192. At 1148, AMF 1104 bmay page UE 1106 with an indication of an SMS for a connection supportedby SIM 1145 b.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 11B, at 1150, connections supportedby SIMs 1145 a and 1145 b may be in an idle mode with respective AMFs1104 a and 1104 b. The AMFs 1104 a and 1104 b may be in communicationwith IMS/5G core 710. At 1152, AMF 1104 b may transmit a page to UE 1106intended for SIM 1145 b. The page may include an indication (or cause)that the page is delay tolerant (e.g., not high priority and/or is a lowpriority page). At 1154, responsive to the page, the UE 1106 mayinitiate a radio connection supported by SIM 1145 b. At 1156, aconnection supported by SIM 1145 b may transition to a connected state.At 1158, AMF 1104 a may transmit a page to UE 1106 intended for aconnection supported by SIM 1145 a. The page may include an indicationof an incoming VoIP call. At 1160, the UE 1106 may compare priority (orprecedence) of the received pages. The UE 1106, based on a set of rules(e.g., as described herein), may determine that the delay tolerant pageis of lower priority than the VoIP page. Thus, at 1164, SIM 1145 a mayremain in idle mode and the VoIP call, supported by SIM 1145 b, maycontinue at 1166. Thus, at 1162, SIM 1145 a may request RF resourcesfrom SIM 1145 b. The request for RF resources may include an indicationof a cause (or reason for the request), in this case, a VoIP call. At1164, SIM 1145 b may determine that a tune-away indication is necessarybased on a cause (e.g., VoIP call for SIM 1145 a) of the tune-away andtransmit a tune-away indication, with cause, to AMF 1104 b. Upon receiptof the tune-away indication, AMF 1104 b may perform a local CMconnection release of the connection with UE 106 and subsequently informa base station, such as base station 102, to locally release RRCconnection at 1166. Additionally, at 1168, SIM 1145 b may grant the RFresource request. At 1170, the connection supported by SIM 1145 a mayinitiate a radio connection with AMF 1104 a. At 1172, once connected,the UE may perform the VoIP call. At 1174, AMF 1104 b may receive anindication of an incoming voice call (e.g., a VoLTE or VoNR call) fromIMS/5G core 710. At 1176, AMF 1104 b may compare the priority of thevoice call indication with a cause of the tune-away (e.g., included inthe tune-away indication). Upon determining that the voice call is ofhigher priority than the cause of the tune-away (VoIP call), AMF 1104 bmay, at 1178, may page UE 106 with a paging indication of voice call forSIM 1145 b. At 1180, upon receiving the page from AMF 1104 b, SIM 1145 bmay request RF resources from SIM 1145 a. At 1182, the UE 1106 maycompare priority (or precedence) of the received pages. The UE 1106,based on a set of rules (e.g., as described herein), may determine thatthe VoIP page is of lower priority than the voice call page. At 1184,SIM 1145 a may determine that a tune-away indication is necessary basedon a cause (e.g., voice call for SIM 1145 b) of the tune-away andtransmit a tune-away indication, with cause (e.g., voice call), to AMF1104 a. Upon receipt of the tune-away indication, AMF 1104 a may performa local RRC release of the connection with UE 106 at 1186. Additionally,at 1188, SIM 1145 a may grant the RF resource request. At 1190, the UE1106 may perform the voice call over the connection supported by SIM1145 b.

As a further example, as shown in FIG. 12 , a UE 1206, which may be a UE106, may include one or more UICCs, such as SIMs 1245 a and 1245 b. At1210, connections supported by SIMs 1245 a and 1245 b may be in an idlemode with respective access and mobility management functions (AMFs)1204 a and 1204 b. In addition, the connections may be registered overboth 3GPP (e.g., cellular) access and non-3GPP (e.g., non-cellular)access. The AMFs 1204 a and 1204 b, which may be AMFs 704, may beconnected to a short message service function (SMSF) 1296, which may bean SMSF 722. At 1212, AMF 1204 b may transmit a page to UE 1206 intendedfor SIM 1245 b. The page may include an indication (or cause) that thepage is delay tolerant (e.g., not high priority and/or is a low prioritypage). At 1214, responsive to the page, the UE 1206 may initiate a radioconnection supported by SIM 1245 b. At 1216, a connection supported bySIM 1245 b may transition to a connected state. At 1218, AMF 1204 a maytransmit a page to UE 1206 intended for SIM 1245 a. The page may includean indication (or cause) that the page is for a voice call, such as aVoLTE or VoNR call. At 1220, the UE 1206 may compare priority (orprecedence) of the received pages. The UE 1206, based on a set of rules(e.g., as described herein), may determine that the voice call serviceis of higher priority than the delay tolerant page. Thus, at 1222, SIM1245 a may request RF resources from SIM 1245 b. The request for RFresources may include an indication of a cause (or reason for therequest), in this case, a voice call. At 1224, SIM 1245 b may determinethat a tune-away indication is necessary based on a cause (e.g., voicecall for SIM 1245 a) of the tune-away and transmit a tune-awayindication, with cause, to AMF 1204 b. Upon receipt of the tune-awayindication, AMF 1204 b may inform a base station, such as base station102, to perform a local RRC release of the connection with UE 106 at1226. Additionally, at 1228, SIM 1245 b may grant the RF resourcerequest. At 1230, the connection supported by SIM 1245 a may initiate aradio connection with AMF 1204 a. At 1232, once connected, the UE mayperform the voice call. At 1234, upon completion of the voice call, SIM1245 a may grant RF resources back to SIM 1245 b and, at 1236, theconnection supported by SIM 1245 a may transition back to idle mode.Additionally, at 1238, AMF 1204 b may receive an SMS indication fromSMSF 1292. At 1240, AMF 1204 b may determine that that the SMS procedureis of a lower priority than the voice call, and thus, may deliver a NASnotification over non-3GPP access that may include the SMS. Thus, the UEmay receive the SMS intended for SIM 1245 b over non-3GPP access duringthe tune-away. At 1242, SIM 1245 b may transmit a tune-away indicationthat indicates an end of the tune-away. At 1246, the AMF 1204 b mayreceive another (or retry) SMS indication from SMSF 1292. At 1248, AMF1204 b may page UE 1206 with an indication of an SMS for a connectionsupported by SIM 1245 b over 3GPP access.

As yet another example, as shown in FIG. 13 , a UE 1306, which may be aUE 106, may include one or more UICCs, such as SIMs 1345 a and 1345 b.At 1310, connections supported by SIMs 1345 a and 1345 b may be in anidle mode with respective access and mobility management functions(AMFs) 1304 a and 1304 b. The AMFs 1304 a and 1304 b, which may be AMFs704, may be connected to a short message service function (SMSF) 1392,which may be an SMSF 722. At 1312, AMF 1304 b may transmit a page to UE1306 intended for SIM 1345 b. The page may include an indication (orcause) that the page is delay tolerant (e.g., not high priority and/oris a low priority page). At 1314, responsive to the page, the UE 1306may initiate a radio connection supported by SIM 1345 b. At 1316, aconnection supported by SIM 1345 b may transition to a connected state.At 1318, AMF 1304 a may receive an SMS indication from SMSF 1392.Responsive to the indication, AMF 1304 a may transmit a page to UE 1306intended for SIM 1345 a at 1320. The page may include an indication (orcause) that the page is for an SMS. At 1322, the UE 1306 may comparepriority (or precedence) of the received pages. The UE 1306, based on aset of rules (e.g., as described herein), may determine that the SMSservice is of higher priority than the delay tolerant page. Thus, at1324, SIM 1345 a may request RF resources from SIM 1345 b. The requestfor RF resources may include an indication of a cause (or reason for therequest), in this case, a SMS service. At 1326, SIM 1345 b may determinethat a tune-away indication is not necessary based on a cause (e.g., SMSservice for SIM 1345 a which is expected to be a short procedure) of thetune-away and, at 1328, SIM 1345 b may grant the RF resource request. At1330, the connection supported by SIM 1345 a may initiate a radioconnection with AMF 1304 a. At 1332, once connected, the UE may receivethe SMS. At 1334, SIM 1345 a may grant RF resources back to SIM 1345 band, at 1336, the connection supported by SIM 1345 a may transition backto idle mode. Additionally, at 1338, the UE 1306 may initiate a radioconnection supported by SIM 1345 b. At 1340, a connection supported bySIM 1345 b may transition back to the connected state.

As described herein, in some embodiments, after a tune-away, a UE, suchas UE 106, may be required to perform registration and setup of a newRRC connection. However, such a procedure may cause a delay in set up ofa protocol data unit (PDU) session. Hence, in some embodiments, the UEmay signal to a network an indication of the tune away (e.g., asdescribed herein) and suspend the PDU session(s) for a pre-determined(or pre-specified) duration. In some embodiments, the UE may transmit a“PDU Session Modification Request” as defined in 3GPP TS 24.501 v.16.2.0Table 8.3.7.1.1 with a “Suspend notification IE” and a timer. Thenetwork may accept the request and store the UE's context. The networkmay then send a “PDU Session Modification command” with a uniquetemporary identifier (e.g., an I-RNTI) which the UE may use whenresuming the PDU session. Alternatively, in some embodiments, if (and/orwhen) there are multiple PDU sessions to suspend at the same time, theUE may send a single NAS message to the AMF. The NAS message mayindicate a list of PDU session IDs which may need to be suspended. Insome embodiments, when (and/or if) a particular PDU session issuspended, the UPF may discard any incoming data on that PDU session. Insome embodiments, an RM state may continue to be maintained asRM-REGISTERED and a CM state may continue to be maintained asCM-CONNECTED. In some embodiments, the UE may transmit a “PDU SessionModification Command” with “Resume Notification IE” when/if tuning backprior to expiration of the pre-determined duration. In some embodiments,when/if the tune-away exceeds the pre-determined duration, the networkand the ULE may reset the UE context, move to IDLE state, and delete theI-RNTI. In such instances, the UE may perform a registration procedurefollowed by a PDU session establishment request to establish a new PDUsession upon tuning back.

For example, FIG. 14 illustrates an example of a tune-away indicationvia a NAS message, according to some embodiments. The signaling shown inFIG. 14 may be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods, ordevices shown in the Figures, among other devices. In variousembodiments, some of the signaling shown may be performed concurrently,in a different order than shown, or may be omitted. Additional signalingmay also be performed as desired. As shown, this signaling may operateas follows.

As shown, a UE 1406, which may be a UE 106, may include one or moreUICCs, such as SIMs 1445 a and 1445 b. At 1408, a connection supportedby SIM 1445 a may be in a connected mode and, at 1410, a connectionsupported by SIM 1445 b may be in an idle mode with respective accessand mobility management functions (AMFs) 1404 a and 1404 b. The AMFs1404 a and 1404 b, which may be AMFs 704, may be connected to variousfunctions within the network, such as an SMSF and/or an IMS/5G core. At1412, AMF 1404 b may transmit a page to UE 1406 intended for SIM 1445 b.The page may include an indication (or cause) that the page is delaytolerant (e.g., not high priority and/or is a low priority page). At1414, responsive to the page, the UE 1406 may initiate a radioconnection supported by SIM 1445 b. At 1416, AMF 1404 b may transmit apage to UE 1406 intended for SIM 1445 b. The page may include anindication (or cause) that the page is for a voice call, such as a VoLTEor VoNR call. At 1418, the SIM 1445 b may, based on the priority of thevoice call page, request RF resources from SIM 1445 a. The request forRF resources may include an indication of a cause (or reason for therequest), in this case, a voice call. At 1420, SIM 1445 a may determinethat a tune-away indication is necessary based on a cause (e.g., voicecall for SIM 1445 b) of the tune-away and transmit a tune-awayindication, with a cause, a request to suspend PDU session(s) (e.g., aPDU session modification), and a value of a timer indicating a durationof the tune-away, to AMF 1404 a. At 1422, AMF 1404 a may accept thetune-away and transmit a confirmation of the PDU session modification aswell as a temporary identifier (e.g.: an I-RNTI) to UE 106. At 1424 aand 1424 b, AMF 1404 a and SIM 1445 a may suspend the PDU session, e.g.,for a duration as indicated by the timer. In some embodiments, an SMFmay subsequently inform a UPF to discard downlink data for suspended PDUsessions. At 1426, SIM 1445 a may grant the RF resource request. At1428, the connection supported by SIM 1445 b may initiate a radioconnection with AMF 1404 b. At 1430, once connected, the UE may performthe voice call. At 1432, upon completion of the voice call, SIM 1445 bmay grant RF resources back to SIM 1445 a. Additionally, at 1434, SIM1445 a may transmit a PDU session modification request to indicate arequest to resume the PDU session(s). Alternatively, in someembodiments, SIM 1445 a may transmit a single NAS message to indicate arequest to resume all suspended PDU session(s). The request may includethe temporary identifier. At 1436, AMF 1404 a may confirm the PDUsession modification request and, at 1438, SIM 1445 a may resume the PDUsession via a PDU session modification complete message.

In some embodiments, the UE may signal to network an indication of thetune away (e.g., as described herein) and suspend the RRC Connection fora pre-determined (or pre-specified) duration via RRC signaling. In someembodiments, the UE may transmit an RRC suspend request message with atimer. The network may accept the request and store the UE's context inRRC-Inactive state. The network may then send an RRC release messagewith a unique temporary identifier (I-RNTI) which the UE may use whenresuming the RRC session. In some embodiments, an RM state may bemaintained as RM-REGISTERED and a CM state may be maintained asCM-CONNECTED with RRC-INACTIVE. In some embodiments, the UE may transmitan RRC resume request when/if tuning back prior to expiration of thepre-determined duration. In some embodiments, when/if the tune-awayexceeds the pre-determined duration, the network and the UE may resetthe UE context and delete the I-RNTI. In such instances, the UE mayperform a registration procedure to setup a new RRC connection.

For example, FIG. 15 illustrates an example of a tune-away indicationvia an RRC message, according to some embodiments. The signaling shownin FIG. 15 may be used in conjunction with any of the systems, methods,or devices shown in the Figures, among other devices. In variousembodiments, some of the signaling shown may be performed concurrently,in a different order than shown, or may be omitted. Additional signalingmay also be performed as desired. As shown, this signaling may operateas follows.

As shown, a UE 1506, which may be a UE 106, may include one or moreUICCs, such as SIMs 1545 a and 1545 b. At 1508, a connection supportedby SIM 1545 a may be in a connected mode and, at 1510, a connectionsupported by SIM 1545 b may be in an idle mode with respective accessand mobility management functions (AMFs) 1504 a and 1504 b. The AMFs1504 a and 1504 b, which may be AMFs 704, may be connected to variousfunctions within the network, such as an SMSF and/or an IMS/5G core. At1512, AMF 1504 b may transmit a page to UE 1506 intended for SIM 1545 b.The page may include an indication (or cause) that the page is delaytolerant (e.g., not high priority and/or is a low priority page). At1514, responsive to the page, the UE 1506 may initiate a radioconnection supported by SIM 1545 b. At 1516, AMF 1504 b may transmit apage to UE 1506 intended for SIM 1545 b. The page may include anindication (or cause) that the page is for a voice call, such as a VoLTEor VoNR call. At 1518, the SIM 1545 b may, based on the priority of thevoice call page, request RF resources from SIM 1545 a. The request forRF resources may include an indication of a cause (or reason for therequest), in this case, a voice call. At 1520, SIM 1545 a may determinethat a tune-away indication is necessary based on a cause (e.g., voicecall for SIM 1545 b) of the tune-away and transmit a tune-awayindication, with a cause, a request to suspend an RRC session, and avalue of a timer indicating a duration of the tune-away, to AMF 1504 a.At 1522, AMF 1504 a may accept the tune-away and transmit a confirmationof the RRC session suspension as well as a temporary identifier (I-RNTI)to UE 106. At 1524 a and 1524 b, AMF 1504 a and SIM 1545 a may suspendthe RRC session, e.g., for a duration as indicated by the timer. At1526, SIM 1545 a may grant the RF resource request. At 1528, theconnection supported by SIM 1545 b may initiate a radio connection withAMF 1504 b. At 1530, once connected, the UE may perform the voice call.At 1532, upon completion of the voice call, SIM 1545 b may grant RFresources back to SIM 1545 a. Additionally, at 1534, AMF 1504 a maytransmit an RRC session resume request to indicate a request to resumethe RRC session. The request may include the temporary identifier. At1536, AMF 1504 a may confirm the RRC session resume request and, at1538, SIM 1545 a may resume the RRC session via an RRC session resumecomplete message.

FIG. 16 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a method forenhanced paging indications for a MU-SIM UE, according to someembodiments. The method shown in FIG. 16 may be used in conjunction withany of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the Figures, amongother devices. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shownmay be performed concurrently, in a different order than shown, or maybe omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as desired.As shown, this method may operate as follows.

At 1602, a multiple SIM UE (MU-SIM UE), such as UE 106, may maintainidle mode connections for multiple SIMs. In some embodiments, SIMs ofthe MU-SIM UE may share radio frequency (RF) resources. In other words,RF resources, such as transmit and/or receive circuitry may be sharedacross the SIMs of the MU-SIM UE.

At 1604, a first SIM may be transitioned to connected mode based on afirst page received from the network, e.g., from a first AMF of thenetwork. In some embodiments, the first page may include an indicationof an associated first paging priority and/or a first paging cause. Insome embodiments, the first paging priority may be associated withand/or correspond to the first paging cause. In some embodiments, pagingpriorities may be specified by an operator of a public land mobilenetwork (PLMN). In some embodiments, paging priorities may be based on aservice type (e.g., voice call such as VoLTE or VoNR, SMS, high prioritydata, background push, delay tolerant data, VoIP call, and so forth) ofa page as well as an expected duration of an action associated with apage. In some embodiments, paging priorities may be based on adifferentiated services code point (DSCP) marking in a type of service(e.g., for IPv4) or traffic class (e.g., for IPv6) field of a downlinkinternet protocol packet.

At 1606, a second page intended for a second SIM may be received fromthe network, e.g., from a second AMF of the network. In someembodiments, the second page may include an indication of a secondpaging priority and/or a second paging cause. In some embodiments, thesecond paging priority may be associated with and/or correspond to thesecond paging cause.

At 1608, RF resources may be transitioned form the first SIM to thesecond SIM based on a comparison of paging priorities indicated by thefirst page and the second page. In some embodiments, the transition maybe based on a priority of the second page (e.g., as indicated by thesecond paging priority) being higher than a priority of the first page(e.g., as indicated by the first paging priority). In some embodiments,the MU-SIM UE may, after transitioning RF resources to the second SIM,respond to the second page, e.g., to perform a voice call, receive SMSdata, receive high priority data, and so forth.

In some embodiments, transitioning to the second SIM may includetransmitting, based on the indication of the second paging priority, atune-away indication to the network, e.g., to the first AMF of thenetwork and transitioning the first connection to idle mode. In someembodiments, the tune-away indication may include a cause for thetune-away. In some embodiments, the cause of the tune-away may be based,at least in part, on the indication of the second paging priority. Insome embodiments, the tune-away indication may include a timer, wherethe timer may indicate a duration of the tune-away. In some embodiments,the timer may be based, at least in part, on the indication of thesecond paging priority.

In some embodiments, the tune-away indication may be included in anetwork access stratum (NAS) message. In some embodiments, responsive toreceiving the first NAS message, the first AMF may suspend a protocoldata unit (PDU) session associated with the first connection uponreceipt of the indication of the tune-away. In some embodiments, thefirst NAS message may include a PDU session modification request. Insome embodiments, the MU-SIM UE may receive a second NAS message fromthe first AMF. The second NAS message may include an indication ofacceptance of the tune-away and a temporary identifier which the MU-SIMUE can use when resuming the PDU session. In some embodiments, theMU-SIM UE may transmit, to the first AMF, a third NAS message requestingresumption of the PDU session. The third NAS message may include thetemporary identifier.

In some embodiments, the tune-away indication may be included in a radioresource control (RRC) message. In some embodiments, the first RRCmessage may include an RRC session suspension request. In someembodiments, the MU-SIM UE may receive a second RRC message to theMU-SIM UE. The second RRC message may include an indication ofacceptance of the tune-away and a temporary identifier which the MU-SIMUE can use when resuming the RRC session. In some embodiments, theMU-SIM UE may transmit, to the first AMF, a third RRC message requestingresumption of the RRC session. The third RRC message may include thetemporary identifier.

In some embodiments, transitioning to the second SIM may includedetermining, based on the indication of the second paging priority, tonot transmit a tune-away indication to the network and transitioning thefirst connection to idle mode. In other words, if an amount of timerequired to perform actions associated with the second page is estimatedto be lower than a threshold amount of time, the MU_SIM UE may choosenot to inform the network, e.g., the first AMF, of the tune-away.

In some embodiments, the second page may be ignored when a priority ofthe first page is higher than a priority of the second page.

In some embodiments, the MU-SIM UE may provide an indication of multipleSIM capabilities to the network. In some embodiments, the indication ofmultiple SIM capabilities may be provided via at least one of a networkaccess stratum (NAS) registration request, a radio resource control(RRC) capability procedure, and/or an RRC UE assistance procedure. Insome embodiments, when the indication of multiple SIM capabilities isprovided via the NAS registration request, 1 bit of a NAS registrationrequest message may be used to indicate multiple SIM support. In someembodiments, a 5GMM capability information element may include the 1 bitused to indicate multiple SIM support. In some embodiments, when theindication of multiple SIM capabilities is provided via the RRCcapability procedure, the indication of multiple SIM capabilities may beincluded in an RRC capability message. In some embodiments, when theindication of multiple SIM capabilities is provided via the RRC UEassistance procedure, the indication of multiple SIM capabilities may beincluded in an RRC UE assistance message. In some embodiments, theindication of multiple SIM capabilities may indicate public land mobilenetwork (PLMN) information and/or carrier name for each active SIM ofthe MU-SIM UE. In some embodiments, the network may increase pagingretries based on the indication of MU-SIM capabilities.

In some embodiments, the MU-SIM UE may be configured to allow a user todynamically enable/disable secondary SIMs. In some embodiments, aperiodic registration request procedure, e.g., a periodic NASregistration request procedure, to update MU-SIM capabilities may beperformed based on a change in a mode of a SIM. In some embodiments, thechange in the mode may include activation or deactivation of a SIM. Insome embodiments, the MU-SIM capabilities include public land mobilenetwork (PLMN) information and/or carrier name for each activated SIM.

FIG. 17 illustrates block diagram of another example of a method forenhanced paging indications for a MU-SIM UE, according to someembodiments. The method shown in FIG. 17 may be used in conjunction withany of the systems, methods, or devices shown in the Figures, amongother devices. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shownmay be performed concurrently, in a different order than shown, or maybe omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as desired.As shown, this method may operate as follows.

At 1702, idle mode connections for multiple SIMs of a multiple SIM UE(MU-SIM UE), such as UE 106, may be maintained by a network, e.g., bymultiple AMFs of the network. In some embodiments, SIMs of the MU-SIM UEmay share radio frequency (RF) resources. In other words, RF resources,such as transmit and/or receive circuitry may be shared across the SIMsof the MU-SIM UE.

At 1704, a first AMF of the network may transmit a first page to a firstSIM of the MU-SIM UE. In some embodiments, the first page may include anindication of an associated first paging priority and/or first pagingcause. In some embodiments, the first paging priority may be associatedwith and/or correspond to the first paging cause. In some embodiments,paging priorities may be specified by an operator of a public landmobile network (PLMN). In some embodiments, paging priorities may bebased on a service type (e.g., voice call such as VoLTE or VoNR, SMS,high priority data, background push, delay tolerant data, VoIP call, andso forth) of a page as well as an expected duration of an actionassociated with a page. In some embodiments, paging priorities may bebased on a differentiated services code point (DSCP) marking in a typeof service (e.g., for IPv4) or traffic class (e.g., for IPv6) field of adownlink internet protocol packet.

At 1706, the first AMF may establish an RRC connection with the firstSIM. In other words, the first AMF may perform an RRC procedure totransition a connection associated with the first SIM from an idle modeto a connected mode, e.g., in order to perform actions associated withthe first page.

At 1708, the first AMF may receive a tune-away indication from the firstSIM. The tune-away indication may include a cause of the tune-away,e.g., such as reception of a higher priority page by another active SIMof the MU-SIM UE, e.g., from another AMF of the network. In someembodiments, responsive to the tune-away indication, the first AMF mayrelease the RRC connection. In some embodiments, the first AMF mayignore paging instances in which an associated paging priority is lowerthan a paging priority associated with the cause of the tune-away, e.g.,at least until expiration of a timer associated with the tune-awayindication and/or receipt of a request to resume the RRC connection fromthe MU-SIM UE.

In some embodiments, the first AMF may receive, from a short messageservice function (SMSF) of the network, an indication of short messageservice (SMS) data intended for the first SIM of the MU-SIM UE. Inresponse, the first AMF may compare a priority of the SMS data to thecause of the tune-away (e.g., a priority associated with the cause ofthe tune-away). In some embodiments, the first AMF may determine, based,at least in part, on the comparison, that the MU-SIM UE is not availablefor delivery of the SMS data via cellular access (e.g., via 3GPPaccess). In some embodiments, responsive to the determination and/orbased, at least in part, on the comparison, the first AMF may notify theSMSF that the MU-SIM UE is not available for delivery of the SMS data.In some embodiments, responsive to the determination and/or based, atleast in part, on the comparison, the first AMF may transmit, vianon-cellular access (e.g., non-3GPP access), a network access stratum(NAS) notification to the MU-SIM UE to indicate availability of the SMSdata and transmit, via non-cellular access, the SMS data to the MU-SIMUE.

In some embodiments, the first AMF may receive, from a core (e.g., anIMS and/or 5G core) of the network, an indication of an incoming voicecall (e.g., a VoLTE or VoNR call) intended for the first SIM of theMU-SIM UE. The first AMF may compare a priority of the voice call to thecause of the tune-away away (e.g., a priority associated with the causeof the tune-away). In some embodiments, the first AMF may transmit,based at least in part, on the comparison, a second page to the MU-SIMUE via a first connection associated with the first SIM. The second pagemay include an indication of an associated second paging priority thatis a higher priority than a priority associated with the cause of thetune-away.

In some embodiments, the tune-away indication may be included in a firstnetwork access stratum (NAS) message. In some embodiments, responsive toreceiving the first NAS message, the first AMF may suspend a protocoldata unit (PDU) session associated with the first connection uponreceipt of the indication of the tune-away. In some embodiments, thefirst NAS message may include a PDU session modification request. Insome embodiments, the first AMF may, in response to receiving the firstNAS message, transmit a second NAS message to the MU-SIM UE. The secondNAS message may include an indication of acceptance of the tune-away anda temporary identifier which the MU-SIM UE can use when resuming the PDUsession. In some embodiments, the first AMF may receive, from the MU-SIMUE, a third NAS message requesting resumption of the PDU session. Thethird NAS message may include the temporary identifier.

In some embodiments, the tune-away indication is included in a firstradio resource control (RRC) message. In some embodiments, the first RRCmessage may include an RRC session suspension request. In someembodiments, the first AMF may, in response to receiving the first RRCmessage, transmit a second RRC message to the MU-SIM UE. The second RRCmessage may include an indication of acceptance of the tune-away and atemporary identifier which the MU-SIM UE can use when resuming the RRCsession. In some embodiments, the first AMF may receive, from the MU-SIMUE, a third RRC message requesting resumption of the RRC session. Thethird RRC message may include the temporary identifier.

In some embodiments, the MU-SIM UE may provide an indication of multipleSIM capabilities to the network. In some embodiments, the indication ofmultiple SIM capabilities may be provided via at least one of a NASregistration request, a radio resource control (RRC) capabilityprocedure, and/or an RRC UE assistance procedure. In some embodiments,when the indication of multiple SIM capabilities is provided via the NASregistration request, 1 bit of a NAS registration request message may beused to indicate multiple SIM support. In some embodiments, a 5GMMcapability information element may include the 1 bit used to indicatemultiple SIM support. In some embodiments, when the indication ofmultiple SIM capabilities is provided via the RRC capability procedure,the indication of multiple SIM capabilities may be included in an RRCcapability message. In some embodiments, when the indication of multipleSIM capabilities is provided via the RRC UE assistance procedure, theindication of multiple SIM capabilities may be included in an RRC UEassistance message. In some embodiments, the indication of multiple SIMcapabilities may indicate public land mobile network (PLMN) informationand/or carrier name for each active SIM of the MU-SIM UE. In someembodiments, the network may increase paging retries based on theindication of MU-SIM capabilities.

In some embodiments, the MU-SIM UE may be configured to allow a user todynamically enable/disable secondary SIMs. In some embodiments, aperiodic registration request procedure, e.g., a periodic NASregistration request procedure, to update MU-SIM capabilities may beperformed based on a change in a mode of a SIM. In some embodiments, thechange in the mode may include activation or deactivation of a SIM. Insome embodiments, the MU-SIM capabilities include public land mobilenetwork (PLMN) information and/or carrier name for each activated SIM.

Further Example Embodiments

In some example embodiments, a method for a multiple subscriber identitymodule (SIM) user equipment device (MU-SIM UE) to determine actionsresponsive to a network page may include the MU-SIM UE,

providing, to the network, an indication of multiple SIM capabilities;

maintaining idle mode connections for at least a first SIM and a secondSIM, wherein radio frequency (RF) resources are shared between SIMs ofthe MU-SIM UE;

transitioning, upon receiving a first page from the network, a firstconnection associated with the first SIM to a connected mode, whereinthe first page includes an indication of an associated first pagingpriority;

receiving, from the network, a second page intended for the second SIM,wherein the second page includes an indication of an associated secondpaging priority;

comparing the first paging priority to the second paging priority; and

transitioning, responsive to the second paging priority being a higherpriority than the first paging priority, RF resources from the firstconnection to a second connection supported by the second SIM to respondto the second page.

In some embodiments, the indication of multiple SIM capabilities may beprovided via at least one of a network access stratum (NAS) registrationrequest, a radio resource control (RRC) capability procedure, and/or anRRC UE assistance procedure.

In some embodiments, when the indication of multiple SIM capabilities isprovided via the NAS registration request, 1 bit of a NAS registrationrequest message may be used to indicate multiple SIM support. In someembodiments, a 5GMM capability information element may include the 1 bitused to indicate multiple SIM support.

In some embodiments, when the indication of multiple SIM capabilities isprovided via the RRC capability procedure, the indication of multipleSIM capabilities may be included in an RRC capability message.

In some embodiments, when the indication of multiple SIM capabilities isprovided via the RRC UE assistance procedure, the indication of multipleSIM capabilities may be included in an RRC UE assistance message.

In some embodiments, the indication of multiple SIM capabilities mayindicate public land mobile network (PLMN) information and/or carriername for each active SIM.

In some embodiments, the MU-SIM UE may be configured to allow a user todynamically enable/disable secondary SIMs.

In some embodiments, the method may further include the MU-SIM UEperforming, based on a change in a mode of a SIM, a periodicregistration request procedure to update MU-SIM capabilities, whereinthe change in the mode includes activation or deactivation of a SIM.

In some embodiments, the method may further include the MU-SIM UEperforming, based on a change in a mode of a SIM, a periodic NASregistration request procedure to update MU-SIM capabilities, whereinthe change in the mode includes activation or deactivation of a SIM.

In some embodiments, the MU-SIM capabilities may include public landmobile network (PLMN) information and/or carrier name for each activatedSIM.

In some embodiments, based on the indication of MU-SIM capabilities, thenetwork may increase paging retries.

In some embodiments, paging priorities may be specified by an operatorof a public land mobile network (PLMN).

In some embodiments, paging priorities may be based on a service type ofa page as well as an expected duration of an action associated with apage.

In some embodiments, paging priorities may be based on a differentiatedservices code point (DSCP) marking in a type of service (e.g., for IPv4)or traffic class (e.g., for IPv6) field of a downlink internet protocolpacket.

In some embodiments, the method may further include the MU-SIM UEignoring, responsive to the second paging priority being a lowerpriority than the first paging priority, the second page.

In some embodiments, transitioning, responsive to the second pagingpriority being a higher priority than the first paging priority, RFresources from the first connection to a second connection supported bythe second SIM to respond to the second page may include the MU-SIM UEtransmitting, based on the indication of the second paging priority, atune-away indication to the network and transitioning the firstconnection to idle mode. In some embodiments, the tune-away indicationmay include a cause for the tune-away, wherein the cause is based on theindication of the second paging priority. In some embodiments, thetune-away indication may include a list of protocol data unit (PDU)sessions to be suspended. In some embodiments, the tune-away indicationmay include a timer, wherein the timer indicates a duration of thetune-away, and wherein the timer is based, at least in part, on theindication of the second paging priority. In some embodiments, thetune-away indication may be included in a network access stratum (NAS)message. In some embodiments, the tune-away indication may be includedin a radio resource control (RRC) message.

In some embodiments, transitioning, responsive to the second pagingpriority being a higher priority than the first paging priority, RFresources from the first connection to a second connection supported bythe second SIM to respond to the second page may include the MU-SIM UEdetermining, based on the indication of the second paging priority, tonot transmit a tune-away indication to the network and transitioning thefirst connection to idle mode.

In some example embodiments, a user equipment device (UE), such as UE106, may be configured to perform the method to determine actionsresponsive to a network page. The UE may include one or more antennas,one or more radios, wherein each of the one or more radios is configuredto perform cellular communication using at least one radio accesstechnology (RAT), at least a first subscriber identity module (SIM) anda second SIM in communication with the one or more radios, and one ormore processors coupled to the one or more radios, wherein the one ormore processors and the one or more radios are configured to performvoice and/or data communications.

In some example embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable memorymedium may store program instructions executable by processing circuitryto cause a user equipment device (UE), such as UE 106, to perform themethod to determine actions responsive to a network page.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus may be configured to performthe method to determine actions responsive to a network page. In someembodiments, the apparatus may include a memory and one or moreprocessors in communication with the memory.

In some example embodiments, a method for a network to indicate a pagingpriority to a multiple subscriber identity module (SIM) user equipmentdevice (MU-SIM UE) may include an access and mobility managementfunction (AMF) of the network,

receiving, from the MU-SIM UE, an indication of multiple SIMcapabilities;

establishing idle mode connections for at least a first SIM and a secondSIM of the MU-SIM UE;

transmitting, to the MU-SIM UE, a first page via a first connectionassociated with the first SIM, wherein the first page includes anindication of an associated first paging priority;

establishing, with the MU-SIM UE, a radio resource control (RRC)connection to support a service associated with the first page;

receiving, from the MU-SIM UE, an indication of a tune-away to a secondconnection supported by the second SIM, wherein the indication of thetune-away includes a cause of the tune-away and a duration of thetune-away; and

releasing, at the AMF, the RRC connection.

In some embodiments, the method may include the AMF of the networkreceiving, from a short message service function (SMSF) of the network,an indication of short message service (SMS) data intended for the firstSIM of the MU-SIM UE, comparing a priority of the SMS data to the causeof the tune-away, and notifying the SMSF that the MU-SIM UE is notavailable for delivery of the SMS data based, at least in part, on thecomparison.

In some embodiments, the method may include the AMF of the networkreceiving, from a short message service function (SMSF) of the network,an indication of short message service (SMS) data intended for the firstSIM of the MU-SIM UE, comparing a priority of the SMS data to the causeof the tune-away, determining, based, at least in part, on thecomparison, that the MU-SIM UE is not available for delivery of the SMSdata via cellular access, transmitting, via non-cellular access, anetwork access stratum (NAS) notification to the MU-SIM UE, wherein theNAS notification indicates availability of the SMS data, andtransmitting, via non-cellular access, the SMS data.

In some embodiments, the method may include the AMF of the networkreceiving, from a core of the network, an indication of an incomingvoice call intended for the first SIM of the MU-SIM UE, comparing apriority of the voice call to the cause of the tune-away, andtransmitting, based at least in part, on the comparison, a second pageto the MU-SIM UE via a first connection associated with the first SIM,wherein the second page includes an indication of an associated secondpaging priority, and wherein the second paging priority is a higherpriority than a priority associated with the cause of the tune-away. Insome embodiments, the voice call may be one of a voice over Long TermEvolution (VoLTE) call or a voice over New Radio (VoNR) call.

In some embodiments, the indication of multiple SIM capabilities may bereceived via at least one of a NAS registration request, a radioresource control (RRC) capability procedure, and/or an RRC UE assistanceprocedure.

In some embodiments, when the indication of multiple SIM capabilities isreceived via the NAS registration request, 1 bit of a NAS registrationrequest message may be used to indicate multiple SIM support. In someembodiments, a 5GMM capability information element may include the 1 bitused to indicate multiple SIM support.

In some embodiments, when the indication of multiple SIM capabilities isreceived via the RRC capability procedure, the indication of multipleSIM capabilities may be included in an RRC capability message.

In some embodiments, when the indication of multiple SIM capabilities isreceived via the RRC UE assistance procedure, the indication of multipleSIM capabilities may be included in an RRC UE assistance message.

In some embodiments, the indication of multiple SIM capabilities mayindicate public land mobile network (PLMN) information and/or carriername for each active SIM.

In some embodiments, the MU-SIM UE may be configured to allow a user todynamically enable/disable secondary SIMs.

In some embodiments, the method may include the AMF of the networkperforming, based on a change in a mode of a SIM at the MU-SIM UE, aperiodic registration request procedure to update MU-SIM capabilities,wherein the change in the mode includes activation or deactivation of aSIM. In some embodiments, the MU-SIM capabilities may include publicland mobile network (PLMN) information and/or carrier name for eachactivated SIM.

In some embodiments, the method may include the AMF of the networkperforming, based on a change in a mode of a SIM at the MU-SIM UE, aperiodic NAS registration request procedure to update MU-SIMcapabilities, wherein the change in the mode includes activation ordeactivation of a SIM. In some embodiments, the MU-SIM capabilities mayinclude public land mobile network (PLMN) information and/or carriername for each activated SIM.

In some embodiments, based on the indication of MU-SIM capabilities, thenetwork may increase paging retries.

In some embodiments, paging priorities may be specified by an operatorof a public land mobile network (PLMN).

In some embodiments, paging priorities may be based on a service type ofa page as well as an expected duration of an action associated with apage.

In some embodiments, paging priorities may be based on a differentiatedservices code point (DSCP) marking in a type of service (e.g., for IPv4)or traffic class (e.g., for IPv6) field of a downlink internet protocolpacket.

In some embodiments, the tune-away indication may be included in a firstnetwork access stratum (NAS) message. In some embodiments, the methodmay include the AMF of the network suspending a protocol data unit (PDU)session associated with the first connection upon receipt of theindication of the tune-away. In some embodiments, the first NAS messagemay include a protocol data unit (PDU) session modification request. Insome embodiments, the method may include the AMF of the network, inresponse to receiving the first NAS message, transmitting a second NASmessage to the MU-SIM UE, wherein the second NAS message includes anindication of acceptance of the tune-away and a temporary identifierwhich the MU-SIM UE can use when resuming the PDU session. In someembodiments, the method may include the AMF of the network receiving,from the MU-SIM UE, a third NAS message requesting resumption of the PDUsession, wherein the third NAS message includes the temporaryidentifier.

In some embodiments, the tune-away indication may be included in a firstradio resource control (RRC) message. In some embodiments, the first RRCmessage may include an RRC session suspension request. In someembodiments, the method may include the AMF of the network, in responseto receiving the first RRC message, transmitting, via a base station,such as base station 102, a second RRC message to the MU-SIM UE, whereinthe second RRC message includes an indication of acceptance of thetune-away and a temporary identifier which the MU-SIM UE can use whenresuming the RRC session. In some embodiments, the method may includethe AMF of the network, receiving, from the MU-SIM UE via the basestation, a third RRC message requesting resumption of the RRC session,wherein the third RRC message include the temporary identifier.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus may be configured to performthe method to indicate the paging priority to the MU-SIM UE. In someembodiments, the apparatus may include a memory and one or moreprocessors in communication with the memory.

In some example embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable memorymedium may store program instructions executable by processing circuitryto cause a network node to perform the method to indicate the pagingpriority to the MU-SIM UE.

In some example embodiments, a network node may be configured to performthe method to indicate the paging priority to the MU-SIM UE. In someembodiments, the network node may include at least one antenna, at leastone radio in communication with the at least one antenna and configuredto perform cellular communication using at least one radio accesstechnology (RAT), and at least one processor in communication with theat least one radio.

It is well understood that the use of personally identifiableinformation should follow privacy policies and practices that aregenerally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmentalrequirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular,personally identifiable information data should be managed and handledso as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use,and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be realized in any of variousforms. For example, some embodiments may be realized as acomputer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or acomputer system. Other embodiments may be realized using one or morecustom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Still other embodimentsmay be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements such asFPGAs.

In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable memory mediummay be configured so that it stores program instructions and/or data,where the program instructions, if executed by a computer system, causethe computer system to perform a method, e.g., any of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any combination of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of the methodembodiments described herein, or, any combination of such subsets.

In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE 106) may be configured toinclude a processor (or a set of processors) and a memory medium, wherethe memory medium stores program instructions, where the processor isconfigured to read and execute the program instructions from the memorymedium, where the program instructions are executable to implement anyof the various method embodiments described herein (or, any combinationof the method embodiments described herein, or, any subset of any of themethod embodiments described herein, or, any combination of suchsubsets). The device may be realized in any of various forms.

Although the embodiments above have been described in considerabledetail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent tothose skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated.It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace allsuch variations and modifications.

What is claimed is:
 1. A user equipment device (UE), comprising: one ormore antennas; one or more radios, wherein each of the one or moreradios is configured to perform communication using at least one radioaccess technology (RAT); at least a first subscriber identity module(SIM) and a second SIM in communication with the one or more radios; oneor more processors coupled to the one or more radios, wherein the one ormore processors and the one or more radios are configured to performvoice and/or data communications; and wherein the one or more processorsare configured to cause the UE to: maintain, with a network, idle modeconnections for at least the first SIM and the second SIM; transition,upon receiving a first page from the network, a first connectionassociated with the first SIM to a connected mode; receive, from thenetwork, a second page intended for the second SIM, wherein the secondpage includes an indication of an associated paging cause of voicecommunications; transmit, to a first access and mobility function (AMF)associated with a first RAT, an indication that causes a release of thefirst connection and blocks paging from the first AMF that is associatedwith a lower priority than indicated in the indication; and initiate aradio connection to a second AMF in response to the second page.
 2. TheUE of claim 1, wherein the first connection is a radio resource control(RRC) connection.
 3. The UE of claim 1, wherein the first connection isa CM-CONNECTION.
 4. The UE of claim 1, wherein the priority indicated inthe indication is associated with a voice communication.
 5. The UE ofclaim 1, wherein radio frequency (RF) resources are shared between thefirst SIM and the second SIM.
 6. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one ormore processors are further configured to: provide, to the network, anindication of multiple SIM capabilities.
 7. The UE of claim 6, whereinthe indication of multiple SIM capabilities is provided via at least oneof a network access stratum (NAS) registration request, a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) capability procedure, and/or an RRC UE assistanceprocedure; wherein, when the indication of multiple SIM capabilities isprovided via the NAS registration request, 1 bit of a NAS registrationrequest message is used to indicate multiple SIM support; wherein, whenthe indication of multiple SIM capabilities is provided via the RRCcapability procedure, the indication of multiple SIM capabilities isincluded in an RRC capability message; wherein, when the indication ofmultiple SIM capabilities is provided via the RRC UE assistanceprocedure, the indication of multiple SIM capabilities is included in anRRC UE assistance message; and wherein a 5GMM capability informationelement includes the 1 bit used to indicate multiple SIM support.
 8. TheUE of claim 6, wherein the indication of multiple SIM capabilitiesindicates public land mobile network (PLMN) information or carrier namefor each active SIM.
 9. The UE of claim 1, wherein the one or moreprocessors are further configured to allow a user to dynamicallyenable/disable secondary SIMs.
 10. An apparatus, comprising: a memory;and at least one processor in communication with the memory, wherein theat least one processor is configured to: generate instructions tomaintain, with a network, idle mode connections for at least a firstsubscriber identity module (SIM) and a second SIM; generate instructionsto transition, upon receiving a first page from the network, a firstconnection associated with the first SIM to a connected mode; receive,from the network, a second page intended for the second SIM, wherein thesecond page includes an indication of an associated paging cause ofvoice communications; generate instructions to transmit, to a firstaccess and mobility function (AMF) associated with a first radio accesstechnology (RAT), an indication that causes a release of the firstconnection and blocks paging from the first AMF that is associated witha lower priority than indicated in the indication; and generateinstructions to initiate a radio connection to a second AMF in responseto the second page.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the firstconnection is a radio resource control (RRC) connection.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 10, wherein the first connection is a CM-CONNECTION.13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the priority indicated in theindication is associated with a voice communication.
 14. The apparatusof claim 10, wherein the at least one processor is further configuredto: generate instructions to provide, to a network, an indication ofmultiple SIM capabilities.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein, basedon the indication of multiple SIM capabilities, the network increasespaging retries attempts or increases a duration between paging retries.16. A non-transitory computer readable memory medium storing programinstructions executable by processing circuitry to cause a userequipment device (UE) to: maintain, with a network, idle modeconnections for at least a first subscriber identity module (SIM) and asecond SIM; transition, upon receiving a first page from the network, afirst connection associated with the first SIM to a connected mode;receive, from the network, a second page intended for the second SIM,wherein the second page includes an indication of an associated pagingcause of voice communications; transmit, to a first access and mobilityfunction (AMF) associated with a first radio access technology (RAT), anindication that causes a release of the first connection and blockspaging from the first AMF that is associated with a lower priority thanindicated in the indication; and initiate a radio connection to a secondAMF in response to the second page.
 17. The non-transitory computerreadable memory medium of claim 16, wherein the first connection is aradio resource control (RRC) connection.
 18. The non-transitory computerreadable memory medium of claim 16, wherein the first connection is aCM-CONNECTION.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable memory medium ofclaim 16, wherein the priority indicated in the indication is associatedwith a voice communication.
 20. The non-transitory computer readablememory medium of claim 16, wherein radio frequency (RF) resources areshared between the first SIM and the second SIM.